Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Praise Him

Psalm 145 English Standard Version (ESV)
 A Song of Praise. Of David.
145 
I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your saints shall bless you!
11 
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
12 
to make known to the children of man your[b] mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.][c]
14 
The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 
The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 
You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 
The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

This is the last Psalm of David and one where David gives praise to the Lord.  In this Psalm David mentions the kindness and love of God but at the end he speaks of the wrath of God.  Often times I think we tend to get so caught up in the kindness of God that we forget there is the judgment of God.

For example, people will say, “If God is so good, why do innocent people die everyday?”  My answer to that is, “There is not one living being on this earth that deserves the blessing from God.  There is not one living being on this earth that is innocent.”  We deserve so much more than we get and I am not quite sure why we ever think God owes us anything.  Yet, we have all fallen into that trap.

Notice that the verse says that God is slow to anger.  That means that He can become angry but yet He is patient with us.  You can go back and read of the Israelites who wandered in the dessert for forty years.  God was so much more patient with them than I would have been.  This is an area I need to work on.  I can be patient with some people but there are some things that I have no tolerance for.  God could have wiped us off this earth long ago yet He has chosen to keep us hear because of the cries of those who love Him.

One more verse stood out to me.  I have read it in other chapters as well,  “He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him”.  I have had a desire that has not yet been fulfilled.  I believe that God knows me better than I know myself.  I have asked Him to take the desire away yet it remains.  Maybe I just think I know what I want but He knows better.  I will continue to seek Him with all my heart.   I trust that you will do the same and let’s remember to give Him the praise forever and ever, Amen.

Seeking Him with all my heart,


Sheila

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