Praising God...

Psalm 150 (MSG),  "Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!"

We think about praising God all the time.  And, I am sure we have read this particular set of scriptures many time times.  But, I thought i'd look up the verses anyways.  It never hurts to expound and look at things in a "new light".

Praise in this verse has several definitions.  

- To flash forth light

- To be commended

- To be boastful

- To be made praiseworthy

Matthew 5:16 (KJV) says, "Let your let so shine before men. That they may see your good work and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  Did you know that we give God the praise when we act according to the principles He has laid out for us in the Word of God?  Because others see our good works and they in turn want to give Him praise also.  We can give Him praise no matter where we are by how we act.

When someone is commended, they are entrusted for care and preservation.  They are recommended as worthy of confidence.  Psalm 18:2 (KJV) says, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer ; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust ; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."  Knowing that He is all these things to us and more...why not put our complete trust in Him?  He will take good care of us.  And then Proverbs 3:26 (KJV) says, "For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken."  We can rely on His power to lead us.  And we have hope that He will complete the work He has started in us.

Psalm 34:2 (KVJ) says, "My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad."  To boast in this verse means to speak of with excessive pride.  In this sense, the word pride is a justifiable sense of His worth and importance.  It involves the respect and regard we have for who He is and how valuable He is to us.

Psalm 79:13 )MSG) says, "Then we, your people, the ones you love and care for, will thank you over and over and over. We'll tell everyone we meet how wonderful you are, how praiseworthy you are!"  He has done great things for each of us.  We need to take time out to thank Him for the big and little things.  And, we also need to tell others of the wonderful things He has done.  He deserves our praise.  Many of us would not be where we are if it wasn't for His grace and mercy and the wonderful things He has done.

~ I always want to be ready to give Him the praise He deserves.  I want to praise Him in my actions and speech.  No matter where I am, I want to give Him praise.  There is a song that comes to my mind:

How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me.

Things so undeserved, yet you give to prove your love for me.

The voices of a millions angels cannot express my gratitude.

All that I am or ever hope to be I owe it all to you.

To God be the glory, to God be the glory, 

To God be the glory for the things He has done.

With His blood, He has saved me.

With His power, He has raised me.

To God be the glory for the things He has done.

Just let me live my life and let it be pleasing Lord to Thee.

And should I gain any praise, let it go to Calvary.

With His blood, He has saved me.

By His power, He has raised me.

To God be the glory for the things He has done.