#681 The Practice of Praise
In the midst of moving across town to ‘the cabin’ with a number of things going wrong in the place we were moving to—like a big leak from the refrigerator and a non-working pellet stove, and myriads of decisions, and so much stuff to move and go through, I felt some anxiety. A dear Sister had texted me a verse from Psalm 33 that morning. I was led to read that Psalm, and was extremely blessed with some of these thoughts which calmed my heart. Praise can calm the heart!
“Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming [beautiful] to the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the LORD is upright; And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.” Psalm 33:1-5
“Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming [beautiful] to the upright.”
In the midst of every challenge what a strength and blessing it is to remember to Praise Him!
Praise is beautiful—we know how worthy He is to be praised at all times and that praise is privilege that we highly esteem. And such praise makes us spiritually beautiful!
“Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
Sing unto him a new song-- His mercies are NEW every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) We have the privilege of praising Him for the moment by moment and recent mercies and blessings, as well as for the past blessings that become new to us as we review them.
“Play skillfully with a shout of joy:” The Psalmist defines the praise as a combination of singing and of playing the lyre or the harp of 10 strings. The word skillfully means to be pleasing, to make a thing good, right, beautiful; to do well, thoroughly—we learn by the PRACTISE of praise to become spiritually-praise-coordinated, using both the voice with the lyre or with the harp of 10 strings. The “harp of ten strings” may be a spiritual allusion to the principles of the Word of God, especially as expressed in the ten commandments. As we use His Word as an accompaniment to our praise, the praise becomes even more beautiful to Him.
“For the word of the LORD is upright; And all His work is done in faithfulness.”
We praise Him for and with His promises and Word because His Word is true and dependable. ALL His work—everything He overrules and permits to accomplish His work in us is done in faithfulness—(including a leaky refrigerator etc. etc. etc.) Romans 8:28! Whatever the challenge before us it is all part of His Faithful Leadings. He knows what we need for our highest growth and blessing!
“He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.”
The earth is full of the lovingkindness—The Faithful Covenant Love and Affection of the LORD. Etched in creation is the evidence and reminder of His Faithful love for life and for all our human family. This reminder is Everywhere in creation, including in the air we breathe. That morning I was watching out our cabin window and I saw the awesome beginning of the sunrise, the clouds adorning the sky around the mountains and fir trees—UTTERLY Beautiful and Breathtaking! Oh may we cherish Who He Is as we cherish the privilege of this Practice of Praise.
In the midst of moving across town to ‘the cabin’ with a number of things going wrong in the place we were moving to—like a big leak from the refrigerator and a non-working pellet stove, and myriads of decisions, and so much stuff to move and go through, I felt some anxiety. A dear Sister had texted me a verse from Psalm 33 that morning. I was led to read that Psalm, and was extremely blessed with some of these thoughts which calmed my heart. Praise can calm the heart!
“Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming [beautiful] to the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the LORD is upright; And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.” Psalm 33:1-5
“Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming [beautiful] to the upright.”
In the midst of every challenge what a strength and blessing it is to remember to Praise Him!
Praise is beautiful—we know how worthy He is to be praised at all times and that praise is privilege that we highly esteem. And such praise makes us spiritually beautiful!
“Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
Sing unto him a new song-- His mercies are NEW every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) We have the privilege of praising Him for the moment by moment and recent mercies and blessings, as well as for the past blessings that become new to us as we review them.
“Play skillfully with a shout of joy:” The Psalmist defines the praise as a combination of singing and of playing the lyre or the harp of 10 strings. The word skillfully means to be pleasing, to make a thing good, right, beautiful; to do well, thoroughly—we learn by the PRACTISE of praise to become spiritually-praise-coordinated, using both the voice with the lyre or with the harp of 10 strings. The “harp of ten strings” may be a spiritual allusion to the principles of the Word of God, especially as expressed in the ten commandments. As we use His Word as an accompaniment to our praise, the praise becomes even more beautiful to Him.
“For the word of the LORD is upright; And all His work is done in faithfulness.”
We praise Him for and with His promises and Word because His Word is true and dependable. ALL His work—everything He overrules and permits to accomplish His work in us is done in faithfulness—(including a leaky refrigerator etc. etc. etc.) Romans 8:28! Whatever the challenge before us it is all part of His Faithful Leadings. He knows what we need for our highest growth and blessing!
“He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.”
The earth is full of the lovingkindness—The Faithful Covenant Love and Affection of the LORD. Etched in creation is the evidence and reminder of His Faithful love for life and for all our human family. This reminder is Everywhere in creation, including in the air we breathe. That morning I was watching out our cabin window and I saw the awesome beginning of the sunrise, the clouds adorning the sky around the mountains and fir trees—UTTERLY Beautiful and Breathtaking! Oh may we cherish Who He Is as we cherish the privilege of this Practice of Praise.
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