Tag: Praise

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Duplicity of praise with disobedience.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭108‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This Psalm, likely written by Solomon, or at least, about him, describes facing a new day, with faith and hope that God would give Israel victory over Edom.

Interestingly enough, God was responsible for “stirring” this once defeated country to attack Israel because Solomon wasn’t obedient to God. A few verses out Kings 11 give the context: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” And, “So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.” So God raised up an old enemy of Solomon’s father, David.

God allowed a once defeated country (Edom) to not only be revived, but come back to discipline Solomon for his disobedience, because “The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD.” Yet, this is Solomon’s prayer even still! Even in disobedience and leading Israel back into idolatry, Solomon wakes up one day with a confidence of hope!

Solomon was old and near the end of his life at this time, and did not live long enough to see God take the 10 tribes of Israel and give them to Jeroboam, a once trusted industrious, mighty man of valor. As we know Jeroboam was not obedient to God either. This was the beginning of the end of the 10 “lost” tribes of Israel.

This Psalm captures an odd sense of extraordinary faith and praise to God, that was beautiful in words but empty in practice. Can we extol and praise the goodness and greatness of God with our words, yet neglect the simplicity of obedience? Can God receive our praise even when we are living a life of disobedience? Apparently the duplicity in the human heart allows for both! Solomon woke up that morning with eloquent words and bright hope for his future, but his days ended in shame and the loss of Israel as a unified nation.

Prayer

​Dad,
It is disheartening to see a full circle view, a complete family cycle of one of the most beloved and wise leaders of your people. This was always a dilemma for me. Solomon, the wisest of wise with the most amazingly humble heart as a young man, but fame, power and wealth still caused him to turn from you and follow fake gods! Of course this directly points to the fact that none of us are perfect and all of us are sin consumed and needing Jesus. But, these are such sad stories, that could bring a sense of hopelessness. My only hope is not how I can be perfect or live some kind of apparent “perfect” life, but that my heart, my soul and strength are set on you and you alone. My life, my trust is in you. You are the priority of my soul! Amen.

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Crescendo closing.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! Psalms‬ ‭150‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

With the Jewish Temple being completely rebuilt and rededicated, the people of God felt like it a fresh start, a do-over. So much had happened, so many leaders had risen and fallen. With the kingdoms divided, the return to Jerusalem was bittersweet for Judah as well as the ten “lost” tribes of Israel. The northerners also built a temple on Mount Gerizim (sacred to the Samaritans) and installed Manasseh as high priest. The temple and the priestly appointment was considered illegitimate because Manasseh had married Sanballat’s (the Persian governor over Samaria) daughter. Remember Jesus’ discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well?

This Psalm not only captures the sense of celebration of this fresh start, it also becomes the crescendo closing of the book of Psalms. Ezra is likely the author, when he directs the grand opening band with all of their instruments. It must have been an explosive moment of praise and worship to God!

Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.

The final words of a book filled with awe and wonder of God cries out, “Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

All we can do is agree and say Amen!

Prayer

Dad,
Of all the high points of celebration. Of all the critical moments of history and reflection, this one stands out as an amazing and eternal declaration of who you are! It is the defining moment of our lives before you – YES, let everything that has breath sing praises to You! Amen.

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Better is one day.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

”How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.“ ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭84‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I remember when Matt Redman came out with this song in 1997. And the reason it was such a favorite in the “Passion Worship,” era of Christian music is that it also took me back to the early “Maranatha Worship” era. This song, like most of the old 70’s tunes were right out of scripture. I was learning scripture through song when I was young believer in Christ.

Learning scripture through song and melody is what the book of Psalms (songs and poems) is all about. The quickest and most durable way to teach something to a child is to sing a song with them! When I read this Psalm, I quickly remember every word and the accompanied melody in a snap!

Why is that important? Because when I am stressed, overwhelmed, fearful or raging with frustration, the absolute fastest way to lift my eyes to heaven and center my soul is to SING! Sing to the LORD a new song! Several Psalms say this: Psalms 33, 96, 98 all have a beautiful admonition to SING. Most of my favorite Bible verses are quickly accessible via song memory. They become an easy way to get my ruminating fixations or brain-racing doom off myself and onto God and His goodness.

The choir director Korah, scribes this psalm as a celebration to be in God’s presence, which at the time, was in God’s courts surrounding the temple. Psalm 100 – another song, gave instructions on how to do so, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name.” The gates, the courts were the gathering place for all to come and worship. Only the priests were allowed to go deep into the temple, and only the high priest was allowed into the holy of holies. But now, since Jesus, the giant curtain, blocking access to the holy of holiness, physically and metaphorically has been torn and removed so there is no longer a barrier to enter into God’s presence without permission. You and I are free to go directly to God and tell him what is going on in our lives. And as we begin to think about approaching God, like the OT gates and courts, our heart gets excited just to be with him! I sing this Matt Redman version of this Psalm and it puts me right there where God is!

Verse:
How lovely is Your dwelling place, Oh Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied, within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings

Chorus:
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

Prayer

Dad,
I am soooo thankful that many Bible verses and truths have been put to words and melodies! I am grateful to sing them out loud, so my ears can hear what my soul is feeling! I am glad to daily enter into your presence with singing. It makes my heart so happy. Amen.

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I can shine brighter than a rock!

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and young women, old men and children.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭148‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And, ​everything means every thing. The Psalmist captures the height, breadth and width of all that should give our creator what is do – PRAISE.

The Hebrew word for praise, hal·lū put together with the name of God, yah is where we get hallelujah. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew root word for praise (hallu) is halal: shine. Doesn’t that remind us of something to do with light? God made light, but God is also light. Jesus said he was the light of the world!

We as human beings are all light-bearers, or we are supposed to be. The Psalmist goes wild with extravagant words describing how EVERYTHING that God created should reflect light and SHINE or praise Him. All creatures, all elements, all the parts that make up the earth itself and especially those who govern it. All kings, rulers, judges, young and old adults and children – all human existence should reflect, should praise God because He is worthy of it. The only reason we exist is to reflect His light, His glory on the earth. If nature itself could speak, it would shout God’s name in gratefulness. If animals could talk, they would sing songs to the greatness of their creator. It would be wild to discover that whales, dolphins, birds and hyenas aren’t just communicating to each other, but also praising their creator! All creatures big and small, all creation singing, shouting, reflecting God’s glory, His light in thanks. The Psalmist set the declaration in 148:5, “Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being.”

How odd it is that every thing instinctively knows God and has no problem giving Him what is due, yet humans struggle. Humans struggle precisely because God breathed himself, His image – imago dei, into our souls. We struggle because God gave us a free will, a choice to know Him, choose Him, even a choice to praise and reflect Him. We are supposedly the smartest of all creation. We are given so much more, above all that was created, yet we can choose a fake, a lie to believe and love another. Such a dilemma, such a sad story.

While all the earth dances and sings and praises the creator, we pout and brood, curse and complain like a dramatic, moody toddler on Christmas morning. I will not let the earth out praise God for me! With every breath, with every ounce of strength and will, I declare, I am determined to reflect and shine for Him.

Prayer

Dad,
I don’t want a whale, a monkey, bird, rock or tree praising You, shining, reflecting Your glory better than me! I mean, it’s sounds a little competitive, but I want to be better at praising You not worse than other parts of creation. You’ve given me more than words to sing and speak. You’ve give me a grand imagination to draw, paint, build and act out my praise to you. And I can make an instrument out of almost anything! Every creative expression I can think of is at my disposal to shine for you. And, I want to use all of them to reflect Your glory.

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Singing is an extraordinary gift

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.” Psalms‬ ‭105:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Sing to him. Yes, sing his praises. Have you ever thought about it? Singing, making a melody and giving that to song to God. Does everyone feel comfortable singing? CAN everyone sing?

Humans are not the only species to make melodies. Birds sing all the time, but mostly when they feel they are safe. Dogs sing, cats sing, whales, dolphins and donkeys sing. We had a dog that, in certain moods, sounded like she was singing the blues!

I have a strange habit that I’ve developed over the years. I hum without being aware of it. Oftentimes, I’ll be with a group of people praying and someone will nudge me and say, “you know you’re humming, right?” I didn’t know. I seem to do it unconsciously.

Do you sing in the car? The shower? In a group? At church? It’s not at all like talking to yourself! Even though some feel self conscious about singing, it’s perfectly acceptable and often welcomed – even in a crowd of people. You’ve seen the videos of someone on a subway just singing away, sometimes others just join in!

Here’s the thing, as people we get the privilege of putting words to our songs and melodies. Many of the Psalms we read were songs to be sung. In times of joy and in times of fear, my mind has reached into my memories and sang a psalm to express what I’m feeling at that time.

What song comes to mind when you think about how good God is to you? 🎶🎶🎶 “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.”

Jesus even made a very stark musical remark when he told the Pharisees if his disciples had kept silent, the rocks themselves would cry out. Luke used the word “krázō – an onomatopoetic term for a raven’s piercing cry.” Because all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God! In perfect Jesus style he was saying, “We should be embarrassed if we DON’T sing about God!” For us humans, singing is and should be as normal and natural as breathing!

An old song put it this way, you can sing it if you know it: “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.”

PRAYER:

Dad,
I’m pretty sure I didn’t sing much or not at all before I knew you. I thought songs were interesting, but I don’t remember singing them. And, thankfully I married a singer who loves to sing and express her love and thankfulness to you constantly. Remember, the first time I saw her, she was singing a solo in big church and I was smitten! David’s Psalm reminds and challenges me to sing more, express more about your greatness and your goodness. I think I’ll sing my way to the office today, no radio, no yelling at traffic – just singing. What a privilege we have to sing, make melodies and songs expressing deep feelings towards about you and even towards you.