PRAISE THE LORD…ALWAYS…IT IS GOOD

The LORD does so many things for us. One can say, innumerable things, confidently, without any doubt or hesitation. As we walk through the life, it is easy for us to miss them. We may, a lot of times, never even realise, all that God does for us. Whether we realise it or not, God is always doing a whole lot of things for us. This is who God was, is and will always be. This is the God of the Bible. This is our God. HalleluYah!!! Hence, praise, not prayers, requests and complaints,  should come profusely, naturally and automatically for a Christian.
– “Worship is not a part of the Christian life; it is the Christian life.”* – Gerald Vann

Psalm 147 begins with the following words. Verse one tells us plain and clear, what should we be doing, all our lives, in relation to God, and the reasons for the same. Let us read  Psalm 147:1
– “​1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.” – Psalm 147:1

We are exhorted to praise God by the author of this Psalm. He surely is speaking for himself, based on his personal experiences. It tells us that, the author is alert and awake, in seeing the hand of God throughout His life. That is why the Psalmist says it straight, without any hesitation…as though commanding himself, and us, the reader.
– “​1 Praise the LORD!”

Going further in the same verses, the Psalmist goes on to explain why we should praise our God. This is critical for our understanding about God. The author goes on to explain, who God is, by stating two reasons, for praising, the God of all creation, the LORD God Almighty, our LORD and Saviour.

First of the reasons, that is given to us by the Psalmist, is that, it is GOOD to praise God.
– “​For it is good to sing praises to our God”
The idea being conveyed, and the one we are to catch, is that, to praise God is a, good thing to do for us. We need no more a reason to praise God, than the established fact, that God is good. When we see all that the LORD had done for us, praise comes, but naturally to us…because it is a good thing to do so…praising God.

The second reason offered by the Psalmist is that, praising God, our LORD and Redeemer is, pleasant and beautiful.
– “For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.”
What a way to approach the whole concept of worship. He hits the nail of all logic and reason, one would want, to praise God, on it head, hard and straight. Man is created with emotions. Emotions and feelings play an important role in, how we respond to every situation in our lives. The Psalmist is asking us, to rise above our natural feelings of that moment, and to walk against our own feelings of discomfort, and displeasure, if any, with a firmed up and pre-determined emotional state, to see the invisible hand of God, working for our good. Then, our eyes would be opened, and we will see, crystal clearly, the working of God. Therefore, praising God becomes PLEASANT and BEAUTIFUL to us…and comes naturally.

We need no reasons to praise God. He is worthy of all praise and glory, if only we can see WHO HE IS, and WHAT HE HAD ALREADY DONE FOR US. We need not be in a proper frame of mind, emotionally, if only we can see God, and His workings in our lives.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us “​1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.” Why wait…let us begin right now. Even so the LORD help us, to truly and properly praise Him, as He so rightly deserves.