Praise the Lord. To praise is “to express approval or admiration of; commend; extol,” according to Dictionary. There is no Law, no Commandment that says we must praise God. We are commanded to love him, but there is no Law or Commandment that says we must love Him by praising Him. We are commanded to pay homage to Him at various times of the year, and to conduct our lives under Him, but that is not praising Him; instead, these things are done out of a righteous obligation. Praise is given out of our own free will. Will it help us in God’s eyes to praise Him? Well, it won’t hurt. God does not control us like puppets on a string. He has only provided us with certain parameters and pathways that we take of our own free will, though He knows the pathways we will take before we take them. He knows when we will switch paths, whatever they may be. That does not mean He controls us. So, He knows when we will praise Him, for to praise, like eating, would be a function of ourselves. We have no obligation to praise God, but it is like gravy on top of the main dish, and that cannot hurt. Why bother, then, to praise God? Why not? Would you not praise a subordinate for doing a good job? Would you not praise a dog for watching your house? Would you not cheer when a football player on your team kicks a goal? Inasmuch as it is one’s nature to praise those who do good things, it is good to praise the Lord. What do we praise Him for? We praise Him for the universe He created for us and for the life He has given us. We praise Him for keeping us from harm’s way and for coping with things that may have beset us. We praise Him for the miracles He performs on our behalf. We praise Him for doing good things for us that He is not obligated to do. Do we praise Him for loving us? Well, love is a two-way street, and with God it is in the form of the Covenant He and us have made with eachother. He loves us and we love Him. We and God form a battery. To praise God for loving us is the same as praising electricity. At least like electricity, God is always there for us, and to steer away from Him can be equivalent to a power outage! Where and how can we praise Him if we are of a mind to do so? We can praise Him from wherever we are, and whatever we have, be it our own voices, or musical instruments, or anything that makes noise. The Psalms tell us to praise Him not as a command, but out of an expression of gratitude for what He has done for us. As such, the Psalms say that it is alright that we all praise Him; in whatever way we can, from wherever we are, and whenever we feel happy. James 5:13 sums it up best: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 15:19:49 +0000
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