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Daily Devotion: Psalm 117:1-2

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Psalm 117:1-2    "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.  (2)  For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD."

This is such a short Psalm and yet the message is profound. Three times in two verses we find the word, "praise".  And basically throughout the entire book of Psalms, we find that same subject repeated time and again.  Do you think praise just might play an important role in our lives? I certainly do.  

It is so easy to get caught up with the things of this world. We get busy trying to make a living, raising a family, providing the best we can for a successful life. We find ourselves entangled with struggles and problems of life.  We get caught up with the glitter and glimmer of the world and the next thing you know praise has escaped us. We find ourselves so very busy and the first thing that seems to slip from us is the most important part of life: worship and praise.  Can we be honest with ourselves and admit this happens, maybe more than we really want to admit.

The Word of God teaches us the importance of praising God on an individual basis, on a church congregational basis, and as a national point of importance. Why are we taught to praise Him?  The main reason is that our God is worthy of all praise and adoration. He is merciful to us. His Word teaches us and our experience tells us that His mercies are new every single morning as we open our eyes to a new day.  His truth (the Bible) endures forever. The world tries to tell us that it is outdated; yet we  know the Word of God is just as pertinent and important to us today as it ever has been.  His Word is still fresh and new because our God never changes.  If we begin each day with a fresh outlook on His mercy, we can see that He becomes fresh and new to us each day as well.

You see, praise is not for God's benefit; rather, it is for our well-being and for our benefit. Praise helps us take our focus off of our struggles and places it on the very Answer to every situation.  "Praise ye the LORD."

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