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I will praise the LORD!
You Heard my Cry
08 Sunday Dec 2019
Tag Archives: praise the LORD
How Abundant Are the Good Things!
07 Saturday Dec 2019
I will praise the LORD!
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
(Psalm 31:18-20, NIV)
The Strength of His People
03 Sunday Nov 2019
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I will praise Him!
Autumn glory near MacNutt, Saskatchewan — photo by David Kitz
Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
(Psalm 28:6-9, NIV)
The Place Where Your Glory Dwells
13 Sunday Oct 2019
I will praise Him!
Quiet beauty, Round Lake, Ontario — photo courtesy of Liz Kranz
LORD, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory dwells.
Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.
My feet stand on level ground;
in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.
(Psalm 26:8-12, NIV)
This King of Glory
22 Sunday Sep 2019
Tags
I will praise Him!
The Ruins, Mackenzie King Estate, Gatineau Park, QC — photo by David Kitz
Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
(Psalm 25:1-5, NIV)
An Ode to God’s Creation
12 Thursday Sep 2019
Reading: Psalm 104
(Verses 1-9)
Praise the LORD, my soul.
LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth (NIV).
He stretches out the heavens like a tent — photo courtesy of Liz Kranz
Reflection
All of Psalm 104 is a poetic ode in praise of God’s creation. Like the previous psalm it begins and ends by calling us to praise the LORD.
The psalmist begins his description of creation at the beginning. By that I mean he begins with the LORD in the heavens. He is the source point. It’s a very fitting start since the LORD called into being all of creation—all that we can see, hear and examine. In the creation account we read, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). But here we read a more detailed—a more poetic description: The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
The God of the heavens separates the waters of sky and earth. He establishes the boundaries of the oceans. These are the events of the second and third day in the Genesis account, but here they are portrayed as a seamless whole. In all this, the LORD is the actor, the mover, the sole performer. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
And what a performance this is! It has no equal and no precedent. Land, sky and sea are His handiwork and do His bidding. They respond to the Master Builder, and so should we.
Response: LORD God, you are very great! I kneel before you, my awesome God! I praise you for your creation. It is magnificent because you are more than magnificent. All praise belongs to you. Amen.
Your Turn: Is there a particular aspect of creation that you are drawn to or enjoy, for example the stars, the oceans or the animal kingdom?
The Theme of my Praise
07 Saturday Sep 2019
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I will praise Him!
Photo by David Kitz
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you
I will fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
(Psalm 22:25-26, NIV)
The Purpose of Praise and Worship
06 Friday Sep 2019
Posted in Devotionals, Psalm 103, Psalms
Reading: Psalm 103
Of David.
(Verses 1-6)
Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed (NIV).
Wild arrowhead in bloom — photo by David Kitz
Reflection
Psalm 103 begins by David calling on his soul to praise the LORD. Many see praise and worship as a purely cathartic response to the manifest goodness of God. Something good happens to us. Unexpectedly, we get a thousand-dollar check in the mail. Quite naturally our response is praise to God.
For many people, praise to God never progresses beyond this natural, cathartic level. If God does not bless, no praise is forthcoming. Our praise for the LORD becomes, or simply remains circumstance dependent. But that was not the case with David. His praise extended beyond simple catharsis. He taught his soul to praise the LORD in all circumstances. True biblical praise and worship is after all a spiritual exercise, a discipline we grow in, just as we grow in the discipline of prayer.
The LORD, the object of our praise, does not change with our circumstances. He is forever the same. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is constant, hence our praise and worship of him should be constant, unaffected by weather conditions, world events, the gyrations of the stock market, our swings of mood or our personal situation.
Of course this constancy in praise is something the natural man simply rebels against. Our world needs to be right in order for us to praise God aright, or so we reason. The only problem with this logic is that the world has never been right since the Fall. Death, disease, war and misery have been raining down on the children of Adam, since wilful disobedience to God first took root among us. And this is one weather forecast, for all humanity, that is not about to change—not until Christ returns.
If we are waiting for a perfect world before we lift our voice in praise to God, we will never praise Him. In fact, if our eyes are on the world, or on ourselves, there will always be grounds to withhold our praise. But then, the whole purpose of praise and worship is to lift up our eyes. We desperately need to get our eyes off ourselves, off the world, and onto God our Maker.
Response: Father God, I genuinely want to learn to praise you in all situations. You are always good, loving and worthy of praise. Along with David I declare, “Praise the LORD, my soul!” Amen.
Your Turn: Have you learned to praise God even in difficult times?
Praising the LORD is a Good Thing
06 Tuesday Aug 2019
Posted in Devotionals, Psalm 92, Psalms
Tags
Reading: Psalm 92
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
(Verses 1-8)
It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
But you, LORD, are forever exalted (NIV).
Algonquin Park — photo courtesy of Liz Kranz
Reflection
Why is music such a central part of the Christian worship experience? For the answer to that question we need to look no further than the opening lines of Psalm 92. It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
To put it simply, praising the LORD is a good thing. Making music to honor the name of the Most High is a wholesome expression of our love for God. Furthermore, the LORD approves the use of musical instruments. The harp and the lyre are mentioned here, but there is no scriptural reason to limit the use of instruments.
Why do men sing love songs? Because they love the woman of their dreams—the object of their affection. The same holds true when we fall in love with God. The LORD becomes the object of our deepest affection. He is worthy of our praise.
Do you need some reasons to praise God? The psalmist provides us with some sound reasons: For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts!
If the marvels of creation are insufficient to prompt us to praise, then consider for a moment the wonders of redemption. God sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die on our behalf. He purchased our eternal redemption with the shed blood of Jesus. Oh what love! What wondrous love! It makes me want to break out in song.
Response: LORD God, every morning I want to praise you. Thank you for the gift of music. Help me use my voice and every talent you have given me to express my praise to you. Amen.
Your Turn: Do you enjoy praising God? Do you save your praise for Sundays or is it expressed daily?
The LORD lives!
04 Sunday Aug 2019
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I will praise Him!
Green’s Creek, Ottawa, Ontario — photo by David Kitz
I love the Psalms 