The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 148:13-14,
"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord."
The "them" in the above passage includes angels, heavenly hosts, sun, moon, stars, the highest heavens, waters above the skies, great sea creatures, ocean depths, lightning, hail, snow, clouds, stormy winds, mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, wild animals, cattle, small creatures, flying birds, kings, all nations, princes, rulers, young men and women, old men and children. Quite a list! In short, all creation should praise the name of the Lord as a fitting and appropriate response.
Response to what? I see three things pointed to for the cause, or motivation, for this praise to the Lord we are exhorted to give: his name (alone) is exalted, his splendor is greater (above) than the earth and the heavens, and he has raised up a "horn" (Jesus Christ - a messiah) for his people Israel. Notice that word, "for". "... praise the name of the Lord, for..." Everything following the "for" provides the grounds for the praise.
One of the sad things for me is to see is what appears to me to be the empty or shallow praise of God. I do understand we might feel it wonderful that anyone is praising God in this lost and fallen world that is so estranged from God. Often we may hear someone exclaim, "Praise the Lord!" as response of something wonderful the Lord has done, or something that may have been learned about him. At other times we may hear it as if that statement is punctuation at the end of a sentence. What makes the praise of God less than it should be or could be is that at times, no reason for the praise is provided. "Praise the Lord..." should be adorned with the "why" or the "because of". This is what makes the praise of God rich and meaningful to me. It is not just me as I can't help but notice that in most places that provide an account of someone praising the Lord in the Scriptures, the motivation for doing so is provided, just as in these verses from Psalm 148.
For those who do know God, for those who have embraced him in faith, for those who have access to the sacred writings, there should ever be a reason at hand that we praise God for. We can praise him for his loving kindness toward us, we can praise him for his righteous justice that will make all things fair and just in the end, we can praise him for his wonderful acts done on our behalf, we can praise him for creating us and all things around us, we can praise him for his many splendored attributes and pristine character traits. Just saying, "Praise the Lord" is just not enough, not for me. I need the "why" or "because of". How about you?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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