Sunday, August 14, 2011

PTL!


Psalm 148

 1 Praise the LORD.[a]
   Praise the LORD from the heavens;
   praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
   praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
   praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
   and you waters above the skies.
 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
   for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
   he issued a decree that will never pass away.
 7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
   you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
   stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
   fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
   small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
   you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
   old men and children.
 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
   for his name alone is exalted; 

We visited a church over in Woodburn today with CMA. IT was a great sunday school time and church service. Stephanie was sitting in church and all the sudden her arms started swinging like a crazy woman. Then I realized she was swatting an annoying fly. Now that I read Psalm 148, I realize this "small creature" was just doing his job, praising the Lord. Stephanie was interfering with his worship. I'm sure she doesn't see it the same way.

It is mentioned 13 times in 14 verses that all things should Praise the Lord. David covers it all in these verses. He covers everything above, below, alive, and not alive. It should be pretty clear, we should be praising God. I don't think he's just talking about Sunday morning Praise. He's talking about 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,  praises to the creator of all things.

Praising God through all things is easier said than done. Take it straight from a sinner's mouth, it's not easy, but it is necessary. These verses don't just say praise the Lord when things are going well. It doesn't say we can skip the praises when we are grumpy. It doesn't say we don't need to Praise the Lord when we are depressed. It simply says Praise the Lord! Through all things, we must Praise the creator of all things. We don't do it to feel better or for any of our purposes. We Praise the Lord because he is Lord and he deserves the Praise of all things, including us. He deserves the Praise regardless wether we feel like it or not. PRAISE THE LORD!

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