Give Praise, O Servants of the LORD (2 Chronicles 7:1-3; Psalm 136:1-26) Hallelujah!
“Praise the name of the LORD. Give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God. Hallelujah, for the LORD is good; sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.
For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths. He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings the wind from His storehouses.
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast. He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings: Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. He gave their land as an inheritance, as a heritage to His people Israel.
Your name, O LORD, endures forever, Your renown, O LORD, through all generations. For the LORD will vindicate His people and will have compassion on His servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
O house of Israel, praise the LORD; O house of Aaron, praise the LORD; O house of Levi, praise the LORD; you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!”
This psalm is another wonderful hymn of praise, celebrating the Lord who is good and whose name is lovely. The psalmist lauds the Lord for choosing Israel for His treasured possession. But does this statement mean that the rest of us are left out of God’s love? NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! The truth is that God wants all of us to be His treasured possessions. God loves us. But many of us distance ourselves from God, cutting ourselves off from His love by rejecting Him.
“For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths. He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings the wind from His storehouses.” Watch some of the television shows documenting the efforts of those who chase violent storms and you gain a new respect for the power of those storms. God is the Creator and Ruler of the storms.
“He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.” These verses remind us of the miracles God performed while delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and later from hostile armies. Og, King of Bashan was a giant on the same scale as Goliath. God helped the Israelites annihilate Og’s army, along with all the other armies opposing them.
“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.” We become what we worship. If we worship the One True Living God, we will never stop growing spiritually, for God is infinite. But when we worship idols, we become smaller and smaller spiritually. Let us turn away from our idols and praise the Lord!
APPLICATION: The purpose of this psalm is to encourage believers to examine their lives and celebrate the good things that God has done for them. So many times, we take God’s provision for granted, ignoring the wonderful things God has already done for us. We are surrounded by miracles, but we are rushing past so fast that we have no time to appreciate those miracles.
We have an imperious cat that rules our household and allows us to live in our house as long as we continue to fix food for him and provide clean water and the occasional affection. Sometimes I watch the muscles rippling under our cat’s fur and marvel at God’s genius. That cat can jump up to a dresser 4 times his height and then jump back down, all without hurting himself. I won’t tell you how high I can jump, but it’s considerably lower! We have flame trees in our back yard. Flame trees bear bright red-orange flowers and have leaves with delicate tracery. Each time I see a flame tree and look at its leaves, I am reminded of Gods’ genius. I care for the children in our pediatric ward and our Newborn Intensive Care Unit. Each of those children is a living miracle, and their bodies are magnificent testimonies to God’s love and grace and His power in creation.
“O house of Israel, praise the LORD; O house of Aaron, praise the LORD; O house of Levi, praise the LORD; you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!” What is left for us to do? Praise the Lord for everything He has done and is doing in our lives. Here the psalmist is urging those who are most likely to praise the Lord as a matter of work to praise Him from their hearts. Why? We can easily become “professional worshipers,” people who can go through an entire worship service on autopilot, but whose hearts and minds are somewhere else. But the Bible tells us that “God is a spirit and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
Today, why not start looking around you and praising the Lord for everything you see. You will be amazed at how quickly your exercise can turn into fervent prayers!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, You are the One who has created the whole universe, including cats and babies and flame trees. Help us to appreciate Your glorious creation and to worship You in spirit and in truth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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