“I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever.”
Psalms 145:1-21 NLT
It is important to understand what we mean when we say we are praising God. To often than not, praise is a rather nebulous thing. Its meaning is often vacuous and vapid, having more to do with a reflecting one’s own condition and circumstances than the character of the one being praised. I am reminded of children, who when asked to say something nice about others replay with a purely inward focused response. They say things like, “I like him because he plays with me, “or “he makes me laugh.” These are not bad or necessarily wrong observations, but they do bely a certain immaturity. A true note of praise would be that, “he is kind,” or that, “he is funny.” The statement is not about the observer but about the observed. God should be praised in both ways, but it is too often lopsided toward self. God shares because he is kind. God makes me laugh because he is funny. These connections ought to be drawn. David understands the connection. David knows that God’s favor of him speaks more about God’s character than anything else. He knows what others might not and he isn’t shy to proclaim it before the watching world. When we praise , we ought to do the same. We ought to remember that God was good to me, because God is good. It isn’t just my experience with God. It is the experience everyone should be having, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to say that if they are not having that experience, there is likely something wrong with them.
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