You - Praise Him

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

What exactly does “praise him” mean?  And how can inanimate objects be told to praise him?

Think about the stars, the moon, the sun, and the waters…and how they respond to God’s call to appear at their appointed time each day.  That’s praising God.

Think about how the heavenly hosts light up the sky just by their position where God places them each day. That’s praising God.

Think about the clouds that are full of water that hang in the skies waiting for their time to pour, waiting for his voice to say “Rain.” That’s praising God.

We are instructed many times in the psalms to praise the Lord. 

All we have to do is respond to his voice, position ourselves where he says go, and listen for his voice to move when he says move…

Great Similes

Psalm 147:15-18

He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.  He spreads the snow like wool

and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

I love this set of verses, partly because I love the imagery in the bible, but I also love the weather!  The fact that God commands the skies and they obey him is amazing, fascinating, and makes me awestruck with wonder at this mighty God I serve!

Snow like wool, frost like ashes, hail like pebbles. 

We don’t have much snow where I live, but we have lots of frost, and I’ve seen hail many times. 

His word melts them, breezes stir, and waters flow.

Just like God controls the heavens and what he says, the heavens do, so he speaks to our souls through his word, his Holy Spirit, and his mercies – daily.

Does his word melt you?

Do his breezes stir you?

Do you swim in the flow of the water?

Winter is near.  

As you observe the precipitation that winter brings, also take note of the movement in your heart as God sings…over you.

Your Gates

Psalm 147 cont’d:

He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

Think about this picture:

You live in a gated community, not because you’re isolating and elevating yourself, but because you’re protected.  God is the keeper of your gate, and he makes the bars impenetrable by intruders.  And those you love and care for are blessed as well, because they too live within these gates.

Next, you look around the entire city where you live and you have no fear, because soldiers stand guard at every angle, keeping those out that would seek to do harm to you and yours, or to steal the provision that sustains and satisfies you.  

That’s the Lord and his angels standing guard over all that concerns you as you sleep, play, and work!

That’s a valid, correct picture, of the peace and security that comes from living within the gates where praise is lifted up to Jesus, and where people love him with all their hearts.

Nice picture, huh?

His Pleasure

Psalm 147:

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;  the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Horses and warriors are great in the battle, but they get shot, they fall, and they experience wounds that disable them and put them out of service.  Horses and warriors that endure and make it through a battle are hailed and honored as ones of great valor and are awarded medals and accolades.  But none of that delights the Lord or brings him pleasure.

He is delighted in those who realize their strength and their victory is in him alone.  He never fails. His love never fails.  And he wins every battle.

Take this verse personally, and realize that God doesn’t delight in your own strength or your own victories.  Every good gift and every success we experience is only by the grace and goodness of God, and it’s to him be the glory and honor.

We become mature and wise when we realize quickly that our leader in battle is the Lord.  He determines when to fight, what armor to wear, and trains our hands for battle. And he alone determines the outcome of that battle.

Feeling downcast and dismayed today? Feeling weak and weary, because the battle has been long and hard?

Put your trust in his unfailing love and watch him delight over you and build you up, in his strength and grace, for this day.   

We're Covered

Psalm 147:

More of God’s greatness is described here:

He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.

One time I was feeling a bit low and I started looking up, around, up and down, and realized how I was pinned in by the greatness of God. 

Up in the skies he provides the faithful sun every day to shine, the clouds to roll by, heavy with rain, and that glory up there is amazing and peaceful to those who live below.

Out around me and below me I can see stretches of grass, hills where cattle graze, and birds that fly by on their way to find food for their young.  What a beautiful picture of God’s amazing care and love over his creation.

Sometimes, in our busy days and in our hectic lives, we just need to slow down and observe.  We need to look up, down, and all around and feel the hand of God that covers us, leads us, and is faithful to sustain us in all that we do.

It’s just that simple to open our eyes and see his goodness right before our eyes.

Grateful Praise

Psalm 147 cont’d:

The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;  make music to our God on the harp.

Sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it, that God casts the wicked to the ground?

Think about the law of gravity.  Is it harsh for a person to fall to their death if they step off a building, knowing that law?  Of course not.  It’s the same when people choose to disobey the commands of God, thus defying his law, and hurling themselves to the ground.

However, those who humble themselves to God’s law of love and mercy will be sustained, and their feet will not fall.  Pretty cool, right?

So therefore, knowing the great sustenance the Lord provides, we are to sing to him with “grateful” praise and make music on the harp.

Did you know we can sing to him without grateful praise?  I’ve done it before, and it’s laborious and probably a stink to his nostrils.

Why the harp?  That was the most recognized instrument back then, so I think God was saying to pick up what you have in front of you, and play to him.  Play your instrument.

It’s a natural and spiritual response to realize his sustaining power, his just retribution to those who refuse it, and then to break out in worship on the instrument nearest us, in grateful praise unto him.

His Understanding

Psalm 147 cont’d:

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

My kids have come to me with their stories, their excuses, their reasons, and their explanations, and I try to understand.  But very often I don’t get why they did what they did, what possessed them to act in such a way, or what in the world they were thinking when they did “that.”  My understanding is limited, and so is theirs.  That’s why we do dumb things on any given day. 

However, there is no limit to God’s power and understanding.  It’s not the kind of understanding where he says a pitiful “I understand…you just can’t help yourself…you’re okay…” and pats our head as he sends us on our way. 

No.

One definition of “understanding” is to have insight or good judgment.

God understands the workings of our hearts, our minds, and the entire universe because he made them all.  He has insight into the future that we don’t see and we cannot possibly understand.  He has good judgment when he answers no, or yes, to our many requests that we offer up to him daily.  There is no limit to his understanding because he is in all and above all and knows all.

So when we come to God and lean on his power and might, we have to also lean into his understanding because ours is so limited.  We have to rest in knowing that all is well in his hand, and that is where we safely lie, when we choose to obey and worship him.