Meditating on Psalm 9:1-2

“I will praise thee, O Lord with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee:  I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High” (Psalm 9:1-2)

Good morning,

I used to attend a church where we sang a song with these words.  That song blessed me every time I heard it.  When I was writing this book, I had to include the verses.

This morning, I want you to think about how much God has done for you and your family.  He has been so good to us.  He deserves our praise because of who He is and what He has done.

David says in these verses that he will praise God with his whole heart.  That simply means he’s giving God everything he has as a part of his praise.  He’s not withholding anything from God.  Unfortunately, many of us hold out on God sometimes because of fear (perhaps the fear of what people will say or think).   We have to move beyond that fear and praise God aloud and on purpose.

Our praise includes telling people about God’s marvelous works.  Did He heal you?  Shout it from the rooftops.  Did He bless you with a better-paying job?  Tell somebody.  Did He bring your wayward child back home?   Bless God by telling someone your testimony.  These are examples of how we can show forth His marvelous works.

Remembering what God did for the great cloud of witnesses in the bible, and for us, makes us glad.  When someone or something makes us glad, we rejoice, we laugh.  Believers have something to be excited about.  We serve a God who loves us.

Let’s open our mouths and tell the world.  Let’s sing praises to God and His name.  Even if we’re not the best singers in the world, we can still sing praises to His name.

Furthermore, certain benefits come from praising God.  Praising God helps us combat depression, anxiety, loneliness, and feelings of defeat.  Praise helps us keep our focus on the Lord instead of our situations.  Praise helps us to love our brothers and sisters the way God commands.  Praising God helps us walk in the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus.

As you go about your day today, remember God’s marvelous works.  Think about all the sticky situations from which He’s delivered you.  Think about all the blessings He gave you.  Think about the favor, grace, and mercy He has shown you.  When you do these things, I’m sure you’ll begin to open your mouth and sing about His marvelous works.

~Aretha