Day 356

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He is Worthy of Our Praise!

Weekly Devotional

December 21— Psalm 146: Praise for the Praiseworthy Lord

Reflection

James, Peter, John. Beloved followers of the Lord. Pillars of the early church. And yet they still minister today through their letters. They can bring us closer to the Lord and his will for us, if we'll let them. Today, as we pause in our year-long journey through the Bible, it's time once again to praise our worthy God. Why? Psalm 146 offers a number of excellent reasons.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 146 begins with a ringing call to praise: "Praise the Lord. Yes, really praise him!" And verse 2 gives us the psalmist's commitment to praise the Lord: "I will praise him as long as I live, yes, even with my dying breath." The logical question is: "Why? What has he done to warrant my praise?" Notice the psalmist's ready reply:
  • God is praiseworthy for what he has done in the past. He made "both earth and heaven, the seas and everything in them" (v. 6).
  • God is praiseworthy for what he is doing in the present. The psalmist uses nine present-tense verbs in verses 6-9 to describe God's far-reaching activities today (can you find all nine?).
  • God is praiseworthy for what he will do in the future. "The Lord will reign forever . . . . God is King in every generation" (v. 10).
Try composing your own song of praise, patterned after Psalm 146. Begin with the phrase, "Praise the Lord!" Then praise him for what he is doing in your life (past, present and future). Conclude the way the book of Psalms concludes: with a climactic shout to all within hearing distance, "Praise the Lord!"

Prayer

Praise the Lord! We praise you! We praise you, Jesus our blessed Redeemer! Your wonderful love proclaim the earth and you are the highest archangels in glory. Strength and honor is given to your Holy name. Like a shepherd, you, Jesus, guard your children and your arms carries us all day long. We bring our cares and burdens to you and you give us comfort and rest because you care for us. We praise you! We praise you for your excellent greatness and we will sing joyful songs onto our Majesty Lord all our days. Praise the Lord! In Jesus' name! Amen! 

Sing to the Lord! Hallelujah!




© Odessa Mathis about my Father's business! 2020

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