August 6, 2005
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Praise God, even when web servers don’t work!( really!)
I was doing some reading about WHEN we are enjoined to praise God (many aspects of our lives can “praise” God; for this purpose I’m narrowing the definition to the acts we might call “overt praise”)….and conluded that, at least for me , nothing demonstrates better that we can praise him in any circumstance, than David’s prophetic Psalm 22:
Psalms 22: 1 – 31
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
[Why are You] so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning? 2 My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.
3 But You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them. 5 They cried to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disgraced.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by people. 7 Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer and shake their heads: 8 ”;He relies on the Lord;
let Him rescue him;let the Lord deliver him,since He takes pleasure in him.”;
9 You took me from the womb,
making me secure while at my mother’s breast. 10 I was given over to You at birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 Do not be far from me, because distress is near
and there is no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me. 13 They open their mouths against me-
lions, mauling and roaring. 14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed;
my heart is like wax,
melting within me. 15 My strength is dried up like baked clay;
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You put me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones;
people look and stare at me. 18 They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing. 19 But You, Lord, don’t be far away.
My strength, come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my very life from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me
from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the congregation. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him! 24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.
He did not hide His face from him,
but listened when he cried to Him for help. 25 I will give praise in the great congregation
because of You;
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear You. 26 The humble will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before You, 28 for kingship belongs to the Lord;
He rules over the nations. 29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before Him-
even the one who cannot preserve his life. 30 Descendants will serve Him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord. 31 They will come and tell a people yet to be born
about His righteousness-
what He has done.
Amazing!! In the midst of what sounds like the worst time of a person’s life, David, while pleading to God for relief, in verse 3 turns to praising his Lord. I had intended to explore the idea that sometimes praising God begins as an act of the will, and is not always preceeded by “happy feelings”. David has demonstrated that exqusitely. What begins as a desperate prayer of supplication ends in
a proclamation of hope for David’s own life and well- being;
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;I will praise You in the congregation.
a recommitment to a life with purpose;
25…I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.
and a release of the spirit to give hopeful praise for God’s future plans not only for David, but for “all nations”.
It gives me pause to remember that all this started with David literally “groaning before God’, and then deliberately turning his thoughts to recount the greatness and faithfulness of God. I recall also that the Psalms were SUNG…David, in his “depression”, began to sing. What tools God has given us today! When I was slow and feeling “un-praisish” this morning, I began to give thanks to God and praise him , but had a huge boost when I put on some of my mp3 music.(I think “Wonderful World” came on first)… Sometimes just turning the mind toward God is all that’s needed, sometimes, being silent before Him, sometimes a walk in His creation,; so much can “jumpstart” us, but it’s an act of the will.
One of the neat things about the Lord is that the same God works so individually….he connects to each of us uniquely. For me, music is HUGE, for others, quiet praise, silent or spoken, for others, praise music and dance; God can be praised by each of us in a unique and vital way.
God’s Peace…Jim
Comments (5)
A great encouragement Jim. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
I guess I’m one of those individuals that finds his greatest benefit in reading the words of others–particularly non-fiction articles that speak intelligently to the Christian faith–or in writing the same himself. I am also the one who when moved deeply within, sits quietly with silent tears running down his cheeks. Outwardly, my expressions are minimalist, but inwardly they run deeper than any outward expression could convey. I am, in short, the contemplative, but with a catch: I have a wicked sense of bone-dry humor: I can soon become the devilish Christian complete with impish grin when uninhibited (but people love me anyway, ’cause they soon learn I’m just being my somewhat facetious and fun-loving self in between being my stoic and serious self).
Jim,
I am most honored by your request and would gladly offer those thoughts for your use. There are three books that I have found particularly helpful in engaging questions of grief and loss. When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner, Saying Kaddish by Anita Diamant, and A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. The first two books are Jewish in their thoughts…so you’ll certainly come across some stuff that we just don’t hold to be true as followers of Jesus. The last is perhaps the most raw picture of grief I have ever encountered. It is Lewis’ own personal journal as he grieved the loss of his wife Helen.
brad
Good post. I love the Psalms. Maybe because they always (with the exception of Ps 88) end on a note of hope. There have been times when I’ve read them daily. I find a great deal of inspiration in them.
I love that FFH song. It is FFH right? Gabby’s dancing to it. She likes it too.
ryc: I don’t mind early morning typos. I think I make quite a few of them myself. I’m glad you’re liking the chapters. I just hope I can keep all of them good. Thank you for the encouragement.
Be God’s.
~April