MEMORISE:
While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Psalms 146:2
READ: Psalm 146:1-10
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:
8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
10 The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
MESSAGE
In the Nigerian culture, musicians hired to entertain guests at parties often compose songs hailing wealthy and notable people in attendance, calling out their names and listing their exploits. As the musicians go on, these rich fellows find themselves on stage in excitement, pasting cash on the singer's forehead. Needless to say, these musicians often go home with a bag full of money after such parties, unless they did not celebrate the right people well enough. In like manner, I have discovered that those who have the attitude of praising God live in abundance.
Even when the rich men at these parties don't know the performing musician personally, they are willing to give him or her all they have in their pockets in return for receiving praise; how much more our God, who not only knows us from our mother's womb but also loves us. Most of the time, these musicians have to lie or exaggerate in a bid to praise a rich fellow. For example, they can call someone who is a branch manager the chief operating officer of a company. However, with our God, He is so great that no matter how hard we try to exalt His greatness, our words cannot fully capture how great He really is. During praise and worship session at church services, when I see people dancing as if they were dragged to church, I wonder if they know who they are dancing to at all. He is the One who made the heavens and the earth. He sits in the heavens and makes the earth His footstool. He has parted the Red Sea, turned water to wine, raised the dead back to life and done all sorts of great miracles, and yet some people still find it difficult to praise Him with all their heart.
David was someone who knew how to praise God. One day, he danced so much for God that his clothes fell off his body, still he didn't mind (2 Samuel 6:20). When you read through the Psalms, you will understand why David praised God that much: God had done a lot for him and he decided never to forget His goodness towards him. In return, God blessed David so much that he lacked nothing. I know this because God said He was willing to give David whatever he wanted; all he had to do was ask. 2 Samuel 12:8 says:
"And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things."
David was indeed a blessed man. You also can be blessed as he was if only you are willing to praise God like he did.
KEY POINT:
If you decide never to take God's majesty and grace over you for granted, you will never lack any good thing.
BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Kings 2, Ezekiel 44:28-45:9
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 14: LET US WITH A GLADSOME MIND
1 Let us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the LORD, for He is kind:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
2 Let us blaze His Name abroad,
For of gods He is the God:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
3 He with all-commanding might
Filled the new-made world with light:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
4 All things living He doth feed;
His full hand supplies their need:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
5 He His chosen race did bless
In the wasteful wilderness:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
6 He hath with a pious eye
Looks upon our misery:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
7 Let us therefore warble forth
His high majesty and worth:
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
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