Psalm 148 begins with a command:Praise the Lord! Then one by one everything in creation is commanded to praise the Lord. The list begins with the angels, next come all the different things of God's creation, then last of all God's own people. Each of us is commanded to praise the Lord, but just where is real praise born?
We know for certain that there are many people have no desire to praise God. There are many times when man's hate has destroyed even the beauty of God's creation in times of war and it no longer bears the mark of the glory of God. Even some of God's own angels one day chose not to praise God any more. It is such an astonishing thought, that angels, who had never sinned, and who lived in perfect harmony with God, could one day chose to reject God and go their own way.
Praise given without faith is simply flattery. We really don't believe the words we are saying, but somehow feel obligated to say them;or worse, we hope somehow to manipulate God into doing what we want. There are some who will praise God, like Job did, no matter what their circumstances. They choose even when their friends advise otherwise, to Praise the Lord! Then there are some who will not praise or even thank God, no matter how wonderful their life is. They are like the Babylonian king who went for a walk on the roof of his palace and looking out at His kingdom, his heart began to swell with pride at all he had done. He got so excited that he began to praise himself, yet the words were scarcely out of his mouth before God sent an angel and took everything away, until that king learned that all the glory and praise belongs to God.
And where is our own heart today? Is praise a fountain that flows up from our faith? We serve a great and amazing God who gave that Babylonian king another chance, He gave King David another chance even after He had sinned. God came to a Jihadist named Saul, who was on a mission to wipe out Christianity, and He changed his life and his name and gave him another opportunity. Jesus came to Peter and met him for breakfast on the beach after, Peter, had publicly denied Jesus. God is an amazing God of hope, and that is why all creation will one day sing praise to His name. Stop and consider, when was the last time that real praise flowed out of your heart to God? God is not only waiting, He is actively involved in our life and working together all things so we can praise Him with true hearts before His eternal throne. Psalm 43:5 ... put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!
We know for certain that there are many people have no desire to praise God. There are many times when man's hate has destroyed even the beauty of God's creation in times of war and it no longer bears the mark of the glory of God. Even some of God's own angels one day chose not to praise God any more. It is such an astonishing thought, that angels, who had never sinned, and who lived in perfect harmony with God, could one day chose to reject God and go their own way.
And where is our own heart today? Is praise a fountain that flows up from our faith? We serve a great and amazing God who gave that Babylonian king another chance, He gave King David another chance even after He had sinned. God came to a Jihadist named Saul, who was on a mission to wipe out Christianity, and He changed his life and his name and gave him another opportunity. Jesus came to Peter and met him for breakfast on the beach after, Peter, had publicly denied Jesus. God is an amazing God of hope, and that is why all creation will one day sing praise to His name. Stop and consider, when was the last time that real praise flowed out of your heart to God? God is not only waiting, He is actively involved in our life and working together all things so we can praise Him with true hearts before His eternal throne. Psalm 43:5 ... put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!
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