I was watching the news last night, and had to turn it off because of the sheer sadness that had malignantly spread throughout my heart from seeing the violence and despair on my TV screen. I said a silent prayer in my heart to God and opened my Bible to enjoy some fellowship with Him. I opened to Psalm 135 and was reminded something so great, that though the world may look like it is in utter peril, our God is in absolute sovereign control. As believers we have a mighty hope that allows us to see past the current trouble and look forward to a coming hope. I was reminded that even when times seem bad we can NEVER stop praising our God! I want to share this verse with you, so that wherever it may find you, you can be reminded to praise your Father in Heaven for He is good!
Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O servants of the Lord,
You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God!
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. – Psalm 135:1-3
This Psalm is an energetic, soul stirring call for all believers to worship and praise our almighty God. It is saying that praising God is to be our chief pursuit, our highest goal, our greatest passion, our most noble of activities. This word “praise” in Hebrew is a simple active form meaning “to boast.” Our God is so great, so triumphant, and so victorious that we cannot help but to boast on Him.
This is God’s call to your heart! That no matter what you are caught up with right now, you need to stop and praise God! Whether this has been a good day or a bad day, stop and praise Him! Whether these are high times or low times, stop and praise Him! Whether these are peaceful days or painful days, stop and praise Him! There is nothing more important for us to do today than to praise God – NOTHING! Your testimony should be one of constant praise.
We praise God for very good reasons. So I want to outline a few of the many reasons why we are to praise God.
1. God’s Intrinsic Goodness
What could be more basic than this – GOD IS GOOD! Therefore, let us praise Him! God is good in all that He does, in all His ways, in all His gifts and in all His provisions.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17
2. God’s Lovely Name
God’s name represents all that He is. When the psalmist says His name is lovely; they are saying that God is pleasant, He is beautiful, He is delightful and He is majestic. As you look upon the sheer beauty of God’s character you will behold His holiness, purity, and awesomeness causing your soul to burst forth into praise. The more you behold Him, the more you adore Him. It is amazing how the more we get to know each other the more we discover the hidden flaws and weaknesses in one another, but not with God. The more we get to know Him the more we begin to love Him.
3. God’s Sovereignty
This means that God is great in His authority and reign over everything. God ALONE is great! The greatness of God is demonstrated in the fact that whatever He pleases He does. Not wants to do, not hopes to do, not would like to do, but does.
but our God is in the Heavens, He does whatever He pleases. – Psalm 115:3
Let us rejoice that God is in control! Not the government, not mankind, not circumstances, and not dumb luck. Who would want to worship a weak God who is constantly checkmated by the endeavors of man and Satan? The only God worth worshipping is the one true sovereign God.
4. God’s Unchanging Character
God never diminishes and He never changes. He is from everlasting to everlasting. God’s compassion to all, even to those who are unfaithful to him is unchanging. You can always praise God because He is always the same. He will never love you more or less than He does right now and that is so worthy of praise!
So I know the world seems bad and maybe your life seems even worse. Maybe you are struggling in your ability to find something to praise God about. I ask you to look at your family, look at your children, look to your health, look to your salvation, look up to the greatness of who He is and you will not be able to resist worshiping His name! Behold Him and your heart will burst. Your soul will rejoice and your tongue will sing! Will you praise Him today?
