Daily Devotional for Thursday, July 4

The Methods and Message of Praise

“Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings,” Psalm 33:1, 2.

Have you ever seen a car covered with a lot of bumper stickers and signs that have Scriptures or clever messages about the Lord on it? Did you ever wonder why they would cover their car with all of these messages? Maybe they were using it as a vehicle (pun intended) through which they could give praise to the Lord. What do you use to give praise to the Lord, and what message are you sending out?

The Bible tells all of God’s children to give Him praise because this is what we should do (verse 1). In many other passages, we are told various ways and instruments that might be used to show forth that praise. Essentially, we should thank and give God praise with everything we have and in every situation we find ourselves in (1 Thessalonians 5:18). The reasoning behind all of this praise is because of who God is and what He has done (Psalm 33:8, 9). The Lord knows all things because He created all things and that includes you and me. He knows our hearts and if we are thankful and giving Him the praise He so rightly deserves in our lives: “The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men” (verse 13). Everything in our lives and all of our being should be used to praise the Lord. Even the last psalm ends with this message, “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). Sounds like good advice and direction for our lives.

REFLECTION
What reason can you find to praise the Lord, and what message can you send out with it? “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).

Tim Chambers