Praise the Lord: A Call to Gratitude in Every Circumstance

Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise Him in the heights. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven. – Psalm 148:1, 13

Throughout scripture we are commanded, yes, commanded to praise the Lord. We are told to give thanks to the Lord in all things.

Spend a few minutes in the book of Psalms and you will find passage after passage that focuses on praising God. Follow Paul around a while in the letters to the churches and you will find him thanking God in prison, in tribulation, for fellow believers, during trials, for provision, for Christ Jesus, for salvation, in everything. He had an attitude of gratitude, and he praised God continually.

Praise. Are we any good at it? Do we spend much time truly praising God from hearts overflowing with thanksgiving as we recognize that without Him we are lost? Or is our praise tacked on to our hurried prayers and rushed through at the beginning of our meals?

I thought a lot about praise as I read through Psalm 148 again this morning. In this Psalm, the writer focuses totally on praising God. He speaks of everything in the heavens praising God (verses 1 – 6). Then he talks of all the earth, its atmosphere, and its creatures lifting their praise to God (verses 7 – 10). Finally, he calls all the people of the earth to praise the name of the LORD (verses 11 – 14).

What reasons did the psalmist give for praising God?

• God spoke the heavens and the stars of light into existence. He has established them forever. He is Creator.

• The winds, the fire, the hail, snow and fog all fulfill His word.

• His name alone is excellent.

• His glory is above the earth and heaven.

• He has made His people strong, honoring His faithful ones.

Those were the reasons given in the psalm, but I can think of some more.

• He has saved me from destruction and eternal death.

• He keeps me each day, guiding me as I navigate a troublesome world.

• He is my King, my Fortress, my Deliver, my Comforter, my Father, my Savior, my Friend, my Rock, my Portion. I could go on.

Praising God takes my mind from the muddle of this earth’s distress and focuses it on the only One who can see me through the problems. He is the Lifter of my Soul.

Praising God pleases Him, and it strengthens me as I commune with Him.

Praise and thankfulness are commands, but they, like everything else God commands us to do are good for our souls. They change us from the inside out into people of grace.

The psalmist had it right when he ended Psalm 148 with four short words, “Praise ye the Lord.” That’s what we will be doing for eternity.

Now is a great time to start practicing.

Father, today I praise You because I can. I lift my heart to You because it is Yours. I praise You as Creator and Redeemer. Thank You for all that You are and all that You do. There are not enough words to convey all of my praise.Thank You. Thank You.

God’s creation. A reason for our praise.