Note: This idea just occured to me as I was reading in Psalms this morning. It will be skimpy, but I think that it is worthy of notice. Bro. Joe
Why should we praise the Lord? As the poet wrote: "Let me count the ways...." Our text gives some excellent reasons to praise the Lord. Let's concentrate on these. "Blessed" is also translated "praise." I. Vs. 6 - Because He hears us. That's why it is so important to pray. (What about your prayer life?) II. Vs. 7a - Because He is our strength and shield. He gives us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit. He gives us the shield of faith. III. Vs. 7b - Because we can trust Him completely, with our whole hearts. The Christian life is a life of trust. It begins in faith and we are sustained by faith until we meet Him in glory. IV. Vs. 7c - Because we can depend on Him for help. He is our helper in every area of our lives........... In closing, notice the word "therefore." It means that because of all of the above the psalmist rejoiced and sang the glory of God. That should be our reaction as well. Is it your reaction?
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I read Psalm 9 this morning and the first two verses really caught my attention. The emphasis was on praise. Praising God is one of the bedrock disciplines, if that is the right word, of the Christian faith. We talk about praise and we sing hymns of praise, but do we really praise? Our text shows us what true praise is.
I. Vs. 1a - The dimension of praise "I will praise you with my whole heart." We should put our whole hearts into praise. We should do this personally at some point each day. We should do this at church in fellowship with other Christians. When we praise God, we should do it without distraction and not be thinking about all that we have to do that day. II. Vs. 1b - The direction of praise "I will show forth all thy marvelous works." NIV: "I will tell of all your wonders..." Praising God should direct us to witness to others. We should tell other people why we praise God. We should be as specific with them as we are in our praise. We should tell what Jesus has done in our lives, which called us to praise. (At this point, we could give personal experiences.) III. Vs. 2 - The delight of praise "I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most high." Praising God with our whole heart should cause us to rejoice, or delight, in the Lord. The essence of praise is joy and rejoicing. We don't shout "hallelujah" from a depressed heart. Praising God should cause us to sing from our hearts. We can tell from the enthusiasm of singing whether or not real praise is taking place. Praising God should make us recognize the majesty of God: "O, Thou most high." Do you really praise God, or do you just go through the motions? Let our text direct you to real praise of God. Note: I hope that this inspiration which came to me today will come to you when you read this, and that you will be able to make your own sermon out of it. |
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