PSALM 113:1-3

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2007

YOU ARE CALLED TO PRAISE THE LORD!

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
Praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
From this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down
The LORD’s name is to be praised. Psalm 113:1-3 (NKJV)

Verse 1. The Psalmist issues a call for the people to Praise the LORD. Many Psalms of Praise are words of praise from the people directed to God. The Psalmist is calling to ALL servants of the LORD. You will notice he does not say, Will you praise? He says, “Praise.” You could take this two different ways. You might think that the Psalmist is demanding or commanding the servants of the Lord to praise. I don’t believe he is doing that. The Psalmist knows these people and he knows that he does not have to ask if they will praise. He knows that they will. I believe that this is an invitation to all who believe to give praise to the LORD, to praise His Name.

Verse 2. The Psalmist reminds the servants of the LORD that this praise should be continuous, unending. When the term, Name of the LORD, is used, it opens to us so many reasons to praise the LORD that there would not be enough time during our life to cover everything. The word “name” is the clue. When you think of a person, in your mind you don’t see letters spelling the person’s name. You see the person, you see, feel, sense emotions about the person; you visualize things important about that person; you may have fear, love, distrust, confidence. When you say a name, everything you know about that person is right there for you. Is it any wonder that the Psalmist says they are to Praise His Name “from this time forth and forevermore!”

Verse 3. The Psalmist uses the phrase “from the rising of the sun to its “going down” to emphasize the never-ending need for the Praise. He is saying every time and in every place, Praise the Name of the LORD. In this vast world, the sun is always giving light somewhere. If we just used the phrase from when the sun comes up until it goes down, it would indicate that when darkness came, then throughout the night we would no longer need to offer our praise. Isn’t it in the darkest times that somehow our need to praise God is most needed?

How does this relate to us today? Does this mean that we must go around saying Praise the Lord, 24 hours a day? NO! The Psalmist does use the words, Say praise the LORD. He uses, Praise the Lord. This means in everything we do or say, we should be Praising the LORD.

We Praise the Lord with our language.

Are you careful that you do not take His Name in vain? That you do not ridicule His Teachings? That you only speak in terms of love for your neighbor and never allow your words to express hatred, jealousy, or being superior toward others.

Do you praise God by what you select to watch or read? Are the things that you enjoy pleasing to God? If they are not, you are not praising Him.

Are you selective in what activities you take part in and what groups you join?

Are you selective about where you spend your money or do you always look for the cheapest price even if that means driving a local person out of business?

Are you attentive to what is being taught in your Church? Do you spend enough time in private Bible Study and Devotions? What a way to Praise the LORD by wanting to learn more and more about Him and His Word.

Our actions give Praise to the Lord in a louder way than our Words. If our actions do not back up our words, then the words become meaningless.

As one who believes in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, YOU ARE CALLED TO PRAISE THE LORD!

WE PRAY:  Heavenly Father, I would like to Praise your Name because you have been so good to me. Sometimes I don’t know how. Sometimes I just don’t want to be bothered. Sometimes I am afraid of what people will say. Send your Holy Spirit to empower me, and then lead me to praise your Name.  AMEN.

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION

Select something from your daily life that you know God is not pleased with. Take that to God in prayer and ask Him to help you to remove it and then to replace it with something else that will give praise and honor to Him.