Thursday 22 November 2007

Background

Many of the psalms speak plainly of God's goodness and hisglory, and the need for Christians to affirm these divinecharacteristics, not only with their lips but also actions.

Today's psalm is no exception and begins with the words 'It is goodto give thanks to the Lord'. It is only later in the passage thatthe writer explains why we should be praising the Lord. Equally,our praise should be something that involves outward expression -singing and making music - so as to utilise our God-given talentsin our thanksgiving.

For the psalmist, praising the Lord is an unconditional response,not dependent on circumstance or situations, nor time or season.Indeed, anytime is appropriate to worship the Lord as long as he isworshipped.

We tend to worship the Lord with real vigour when we've beenespecially blessed or things are going relatively well. It is oftena different story when a sudden disaster strikes or during a timeof testing. At times like this we find it hard to express thepraise that is described in today's psalm.

Yet, we should be mindful of the fact that our praise has more todo with faith than feelings or emotions. It should be birthed andnurtured in a commitment to serve and honour an Almighty God whocreated and sustains our world, as well as loves us with a passionthat is only matched by his power.

To Ponder

Is our worship more dependent on faith thanfeelings? What are the advantages and disadvantages of either?

Think about all your gifts. How can you use themto praise God?