ONLY ONE FITTING RESPONSE:
PRAISE!
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
If we would only take to heart these few words: It is good, it is pleasant, and it is fitting to praise our God.
The psalmist begins by reminding us whom we are praising: the self-sufficient God who created and sustains the universe, who is sovereign over all. He is Jehovah, and it is right to praise Him. Not to praise Him is wrong because everything about Him deserves our praise. It is the righteous thing to do. If we know God, then praising is our normal and expected response. It is also pleasant to praise God; our meditation and reflection upon Him will not only be a wonderful exercise for His children, it will also please our God.
Psalm 147:2-6
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The LORD lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
The psalmist is probably writing this psalm after the return from exile, observing the care of God for His people. He praises God for His power and His meticulous care for all of His creation. He cares for the broken-hearted and heals their wounds, while sustaining the heavens with astounding precision. All of His works are done with unending power and wise, particular care. What does God expect in return? Our humble dependence and praise. At the same time, God is not indifferent to the arrogance of man, and He will react in due time!
Such astounding care as this should produce thankfulness in the children of the Lord.
Psalm 147:7-11
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Since God provides so carefully for his own, our songs of thankful praise are His due. As we reflect on the work of God, only one kind of response is fitting: the fear of God and trust in His steadfast love.
Since God provides so thoroughly and lovingly, He is certainly displeased by sounds of complaint or arrogance from His creatures. The only fitting sounds are songs of thankful, trusting praise. Man’s total dependence on God pleases Him, the creator and sustainer of all.
God’s work is perfect, generous, and timely. He is the one who protects His own, He is the one who provides, and He is in undisputed, sovereign control! God makes His promises and keeps them faithfully!
Psalm 147:12-20
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
He makes peace in your borders;
he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the LORD!
Israel recognized that they had been blessed like no other nation, and they needed to praise their God.
Thinking on this psalm, I have recognized God’s particular grace, as He has dealt in my own life. What I have, what I know, who I am, what I enjoy – as well as all my spiritual blessings - are not in any way the result of any personal merit.
A life of thankful praise is my ONLY fitting response. The foundation of my praise is to be my fear of God and my humility before Him. Even the very circumstances that cause me to react otherwise, are God’s meticulous intentions to produce that humble fear I need. The children of Israel had to endure exile and hardship so that they would respond in a way pleasing to God.
All I know today is that whatever God ordains for me to endure should never produce rebellion or arrogance, but thankful praise for His providence for my spiritual growth and good!
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