"I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. 4. For thy mercy is great above the heavens and thy truth reacheth to the clouds. (KJV) "I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, I will sing of you among the peoples. 4. For great is your love, higher than the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies." (NIV)
I drew the full meaning of this text from both the KJV and NIV translations. The text begins by offering praise to God; which reminds us that we must praise God. We must praise Him for our own good and for the benefit of others. Our praise of God feeds our souls and it sets an example for people who need to know God on a more intimate basis. Praise is important, but our reasons for praise are also important. The psalmist revealed to us why he would praise God "among the people" and "among the nations." He praised God because of His love and mercy. God's mercy reaches beyond the skies. That is to say that God's love and mercy is unlimited and eternal. Where would we be without the love and mercy of God? To say the least, we would be in deep trouble. Suppose that God was only a God of wrath. We have examples in the Bible of what God's wrath is like. If wrath was all that we had from Him, there would be no hope and life would be hell on earth - literally. We have experienced the love and mercy of God on a deeper level than the psalmist, because we have experienced His love through His Son. Jesus is the greatest evidence of God's love and mercy and He has offered Himself to us to save us from the wrath of God. Doesn't that make you want to praise Him at this moment? Another reason for praising God given here is because of the truth and faithfulness of God. We praise God because He always tells us the truth and He is always faithful to carry out the promises that He has made through His word. An example of this truth and faithfulness is given in 1John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins..." The truth is that when we confess our sins to God through Jesus, He will always be faithful to forgive us. Let's face it, even the people who are dearest to us can let us down at times, and we, in turn, can let them down, but God never lets us down. Even when He allows negative things in our lives, His truth and faithfulness are at work. That's why Paul wrote in Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Stop what you are doing right now and offer up praise to God. Remember that He loves you and has given you His eternal mercy. Remember that He will always be truthful and faithful in your life. Thank Him and praise Him! Bro, Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|