Psalm 147:1-5 "Praise ye the LORD: for
it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is
comely. (2) The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together
the outcasts of Israel. (3) He healeth the broken in heart, and
bindeth up their wounds. (4) He telleth the number of the stars; he
calleth them all by their names. (5) Great is our Lord, and of
great power: his understanding is infinite."
The Book of the Psalms closes out with consecutive songs of praise. Each one
lists various works of God in the universe and in our hearts that are worthy of
our praise. I must admit that all too many times I am negligent of offering
proper praise unto the Lord for things that may even be overlooked. It is too
easy to take things for granted. I'm speaking of things that are of absolute
importance to us, but go unnoticed - until they fail to work properly.
Today's Psalm, when read in its entirety, speak of the manner in which our Lord
reaches down to lift us up when we are struggling in life. He has given us the
proper means to overcome those low times. Notice verse 1 of today's passage:
"Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it
is pleasant; and praise is comely." Praise is pleasant and praise is
beautiful. It is beautiful in that when we begin to praise the Lord for His
goodness and mercy, our burdens become lighter. They become lighter because
praise takes us closer into the presence of the Lord. Remember what Jesus said?
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." (Matthew 11:28) Praise does not always drive away the problem, but
it sure makes it lighter to endure. It is lighter because Jesus is sharing that
burden. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew
11:30) In His presence, we find strength and understanding. We find a stronger
personal relationship with our Lord through praise. Read the passage once
again. It would be good to read the entire Psalm. "It is good to sing
praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely
(beautiful)"
I'm reminded of one of our camp songs just now:
Praise Him, Praise Him,
Praise Him in the morning,
Praise Him in the noontime;
Praise Him, Praise Him,
Praise Him when the sun goes down!
And then we have:
Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love;
Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children,
God is love, God is love.