Daily Devotional

The last five Psalms of the Book of Psalms are glorious worship hymns that exhort us to praise our God.  They bring into focus the reality that our lives are to bring glory to God, and that we should enjoy a growing relationship with Him.  The Book of Psalms takes us on a journey as the writers share with us their grief, shame, sins, doubts, and fears.  The people of God are seen in their defeats, victories, and ups and downs in life.  James M. Boice writes in his commentary on the Psalms, “Praise is where all true religious contemplation should end.”  The writers share openly their struggles with faith but now, in spite of all the difficulties, they want to move us toward praising God.

The Hebrew word hallelujah, “Halel” means to praise or tell someone they are very great. Hallelujah is an imperative, an exhortation to praise the Lord, Who has created the world and everything in it.  He is the Lord of Lords.  He is the One the Psalmist encourages us to praise.

Jehovah (Yahweh) or the shortened form Jah (Yah), is introduced in the Psalm as the One Who made heaven and earth and keeps truth forever.  He is the covenant-keeping God of Jacob.  In this Psalm, the name Jehovah (LORD) is used 11 times and the name God (Elohim) is used 4 times.

The Psalm begins with the Psalmist exhorting the Jewish people, who have returned to Jerusalem following the captivity, to praise the Lord.  There are lessons we can learn about praising God in our everyday life.

The Psalmist not only begins the Psalm in praise of God but fills his life with God’s praise.  He begins the Psalm by exhorting people (plural) to praise the Lord and then he immediately praises the Lord on an individual level.  “While I have being” is literally “in my continuance” and may be expressed, for example, as “while I still exist,” “as long as I am here,” “as long as I have breath,” or “throughout my whole life.”  Today I need to praise the Lord every day of my life.  

Someday when this life is over, I will be able to praise the Lord better.  I will enter into heaven and will be in a much better place to worship God.  No longer will sin influence me or hinder me.  I will be in God’s presence with a glorified body.  I will be able to praise the Lord in ways I could never do this side of heaven.  One of the joys of heaven is that I will be able to praise my God for eternity.  Eternity is forever and each one of us who is there will engage in true worship.  As we learn new truths about our Lord, we will respond in worship for truly He is worthy of all our praise.

Today we live in an entertainment culture.  Everything is to be fun and effortless.  Sadly, this view of life has in some ways entered the modern church to the point we come to church with the idea that we should be entertained.  Often, we have become lazy about our faith and worship.  We become spectators instead of engaging in true worship of our Lord.  Praising God is not something we can do in an apathetic and passive way.  We need to fully engage in worship.  We need to discover the truth and blessing of real worship of our great God.

We cannot enter into true worship of a God that we do not know.  We need to have a lifelong desire to know God more so that we can engage in greater worship of Him.  God has revealed Himself in creation and through the Bible.  The Psalmist encourages us to worship God in a context of teaching the truth about God and desires us to reflect on who God is, what He is like, and what He has done.

We need to ask ourselves, “How well do I know God?”  In order to worship Him, we must know who God is.  God has revealed Himself in Scripture and that is why studying the Scriptures is so important.  Through our study, we develop an understanding of God that encourages us to know Him and relate to Him on a personal level.  That is why the teaching of the Bible needs to be central in our worship.  Our worship is a response to what we know of God.

Even though we gather as a church to worship God, we must participate in that worship.  No one can worship for us…not the choir, ministers, praise team, or others.  We worship together in soul and spirit.  The Psalmist calls us as a group to praise God but immediately states his desire to worship the Lord himself.  His individual worship prepared his heart for the corporate times of worship.  Are you spending time in personal worship and praise throughout the week so that when we gather as a church you can unite your hearts with others in true worship of our Great God?

Prayer:  Lord, touch my heart with the truth of Who You are.  I want my heart to respond in worship and praise as I get to know You better.  Draw me to Yourself and may I be overwhelmed with your greatness.  Amen

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation