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I sing praises to Your name, O Lord
Praises to Your name, O Lord
For Your name is great and greatly to be praised.
In all things, and especially through the uncertain… We will always have cause to praise the name of the Lord. We will always have a reason to thank the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We will ALWAYS have opportunities to be in awe of the Creator of the Universe, and of all things seen and unseen.
We give Him thanks. We give Him the glory and the worship He deserves. We acknowledge that while other things may draw our attention and even our awe, it’s all inferior to the infinite greatness and glory of the Maker of Time and Space.
Our praise is our function; We were made to worship God. And even if this sounds off, the only alternative is that we worship something else, and that is guaranteed to bring us to death.
When we realize how much we have been saved, or how deep of a darkness we were in before Christ – we’re brought to give thanksgiving to Him, to where and whom it is due.
I’m fighting a sore throat, cough and colds, while recovering from some bad choices I’ve made in the past 12 hours… but I’m here to continue saying Halleluyah, and thanks to our God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – for everything.
Psalm 119:113-120
SAMEKH
113 I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.
We continue to give thanks and praise to our God, not only for who He is, but also for His Law – and, in our case, the Living Word, the Word made flesh – Jesus Christ, our good Shepherd, and our Savior. For as this Psalmist puts his love of the Law in the same verse as his hatred for the double-minded, this ought to be a reminder of yet another benefit with have through Christ and His finished work, in this day and age: That is, that we ourselves may be double-minded while we are in this reality, but the Word stands, and it keeps us in a singular path, upon a singular foundation. I dare say that through Christ, we are as decisive as He was in doing all He did for our salvation and reconciliation.
In the moments when we find ourselves the double-minded ones, let us go back to the Law; that is, let us go back to the Scripture, to find singular, everlasting Life – that is, let us go back to the Bible, and find Christ.
While the rest of the world is anxious in making all sorts of decisions, we are decisive and resolute, knowing that we have a Life and a Savior with us before, during, and after all things.
Indeed, He is with us, and it is in Him where we hide. As a strong Tower, Christ is both our hiding place and our shield of protection. The Word of Life protects us – all the more reason why we should place our hope in the Living Word.
As I read verse 115, I am reminded of Psalm 1, particularly where it says that whoever meditates on the Word and delights in it avoids the way of the wicked. In this verse we see how it works the other way around – that is, that we can also intentionally avoid the way of the wicked, with the intention of the same – delighting, and in this case keeping the commandments of God. I’m further led to believe that in our reading of the Word, we are naturally led into the right paths.
Indeed, as we meditate on that, let us remember the promises of Psalm 23 – Our Shepherd causes us to rest and be restored, before He leads us into the ways of righteousness for His’ name’s sake. I’m led to believe that we’re directed by the Word into the right ways and the right paths, all for the glory of His name.
If we need guidance, and/or if we find ourselves having a difficult time praising God, we would do well to go to His Word – where we would be directed, for the glory of His name.
It’s not just in thanksgiving, after all.
In Christ, through whom all of God’s promises are, were, and will be fulfilled, we are upheld. We hope in the Lord, and we are supported, sustained, defended and encouraged.
What all this is telling me so far is that when we read the Scriptures, so much more is at stake than our time and our attention and our learning. As we read, we are upheld as we just mentioned… but we are also brought to praise the Lord, just as much are we are directed in even the most mundane of decisions we may make in this existence. What I’m saying is that through Christ, our reading of Scripture benefits us in so many more ways that learning and reminders – sure, we’re reminded of words, but more that this, every visit we make to the Bible is a reminder of God’s glory and grace; It’s never a waste of time!
For as we reflect on the remaining verses… what else do we have here in this world, but the Word? For all our cunning, and for all the wickedness we may find ourselves in, what hope do we have apart from the Living Word, who is no less than Christ Jesus Himself? It’s awe-inspiring enough that this terribly glorious God who could erase all there is about us in an instant – but, see here, through Christ we know that in spite of all our possible fates, He chooses to LOVE us completely, constantly and consistently.
There is truly no reason for us to be double minded, to do evil, or to stray away from His statues – He has given us infinitely more, and we are more thankful than ever!
Oh, Father, I may not be making sense here, but my hope and my trust is in You for everything!
Be glorified and magnified through it all, my Lord!
Sorry about this. Just bounding back. Thanks for your patience with me.
Until the next post, may the Lord continue to bless us all.
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