Psalms 146:1Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. 2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: 7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: 8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: 9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.10 The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.
Go on and praise the Lord. Even if you’re tired, praise the Lord. If your mind is scattered, praise God. This is a must in our duty as a Christian: praise the Lord. Be thankful for what he does and praise him for who he is.
Through this psalm we see that David instructed his own soul to praise the Lord. Sometimes when we first wake worry may be there. We might dread facing the day. The first thing we should do is take the time to praise the Lord. Think thoughts of praise. There is a lot to burden us down but go ahead and instruct yourself to praise the Lord. Jesus taught us to start our prayers with praise.
Praise God in whatever shape you’re in—good, bad, or rock bottom. If you have any sense about your being, praise the Lord. There is a lot to steal our joy but while we have our being let’s praise the Lord. Jesus never fails. There is much for which to thank him. We cannot put our trust in the government or in man. We have One greater to trust and we can.
The time will come when we’ll all return to the earth. We trust One who will never perish. Look back at verse 5. What does it tell us about God? He is our help. He is our hope. What more can we ask? The only real hope is in Jesus. Help is for today. Hope is ahead. When we get to “ahead” help will be there. Remember that Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. A storm came and the disciples went to wake him. He calmed the storm. If he calms one storm, he can calm another.
If he can create the universe, can he not create a solution to our problems and fulfill our need. He’s still working on our lives and in our lives. He was first creator and is faithful to keep his word. They may burn our constitution. They may burn the flag. They cannot take away the Word of God. If we hide it in our hearts it will help us not to sin against him. Even if they burn the book, they can’t take it from our heart.
God is the avenger. He cares for us. Have any of us gone hungry? He provides and loosens us from our prisons, whatever they may be. Because our burdens are lifted we can stand. We may be called names by the world but God preserves us. When our loved ones are gone, God can take the space left by them. The Lord has no term limits. He rules forever. He will always be on the throne. He’ll always be God.
If I join with David, I have to just stop and say PRAISE THE LORD!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 