Perspectives

Psalm 145:1-7 … 1) I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. 2) Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 3) Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4) One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. 5) They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6) They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7) They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. (NIV 1984)

Notice something different about these verses? I will exalt; I will praise, I will commend, I will tell, I will meditate, I will proclaim; and I will celebrate. The Psalmist (David) is really energized, he is trying very hard to make a point and I do not think he is happy with just a silent acknowledgment that God is great. I kind of suspect that he wants us to shout it out! The Psalmist challenges us to speak publicly, maybe even going so far as declaring with a loud voice openly. How about proclaiming it in song? There is nothing as beautiful as some good old wholesome singing. One sort of gets the idea that the Holy Spirit moved the Psalmist when he calls all creation to praise the mighty works of God.

When we read the Psalms, we often feel the need to pause and calmly think about that which is happening around us in the world so that we can store the information in our thinking development.  If we want to remember something, we will have to observe that which we want to remember. Strange, I do not remember what I have never known. These Scripture verses speak to us this way. If something important happens, and we see how it happens, we shall remember that event. If we hear a sermon, the thing that we remember afterward is the point that most forcibly strikes us while we are listening to the sermon. Whether we use a pencil or not memory obeys our wish and records it in our memory bank.

One more thought: how God motivates us is very much the same. If I want to remember how great God is I must allow Him to make an impression on me. That means I have to notice it, I will have to consider it, and at my age, I will have to sit back and meditate on it and allow that impression to influence my heart. And when we do that we should remember.

Not often does a person come through life untouched by some bumps and bruises. Somehow, we need those bumps and bruises to learn to praise God. I could wish my whole life to be calm, and carefree and free of all troubles. I could desire that nothing might ever again disturb my restful spirit. But were it to be so I suspect I would seldom experience the merciful loving care of my Heavenly Father. When you and I wrestle with those bumps and bruises where do we go but to the Lord in prayer.

Is it not true that all of us who know God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, that we have a desire in our heart to talk about our salvation and God’s goodness; His righteousness, His blessings? We talk about how His greatness is unfathomable, immeasurable; yet the Holy Spirit makes known to each of us the mysteries of God’s love. Perhaps Christ assigns each individual with the responsibility to express their own understanding of the greatness of how Christ has changed his or her individual life.

There are many ways of acknowledging God’s great goodness.  He has given us the rights and the nature of His Son. He has given us the complete forgiveness of all our sins. Not only has he forgiven us our sins, but also He does not remember them any more, they are gone forever! One more thing: You and I can come to Him in prayer any time, night or day, and He will hear our prayers. We cannot add to God’s glory, but we can certainly make it more widely known by simply stating the truth about Him in our every day good performance and mannerism … Have a Merry Christmas … God Bless

Would you pray this prayer with me? “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that peace, joy and happiness that fulfills my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name. Amen”