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Praise the Lord!
Andrea Lende • September 5, 2020
Psalm 117:1-2
Praise the Lord!
You can also listen to the meditation and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Praise-the-Lord-ej67k7
Daily Word:
Psalm 117:1-2
“O praise the Lord, all you nations! Praise Him, all you people!”
“For His mercy and loving-kindness are great toward us, and the truth and faithfulness of the Lord endure forever. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)”
Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible, and it is also the exact middle of the Bible.
Seems fitting that the middle of the Bible talks about praising God.
Our first verse pretty well sums up the first half of the Bible.
“O praise the Lord, all you nations! Praise Him, all you people!”
Why does this sum up the first half of the Bible?
The very first chapter of the first book in Genesis answers that question.
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.”
He formed everything, made everything, and prepared everything.
There is nothing that we see here and now that wasn’t created by the Lord.
That, alone, should give us cause to praise Him!
And yes, the fall of mankind came shortly thereafter.
We, the people, fell but we did not fall from His grace.
The second verse of our reading today says, “For His mercy and loving-kindness are great toward us, and the truth and faithfulness of the Lord endure forever.”
The Lord sent His Son to recover us from our fall out of paradise and out of perfection.
The Lord is ALL merciful toward us.
He is faithful to us.
He had a plan to recover us from the fall.
Jesus gave us back perfection – perfection in Him.
So, the second verse of the middle of the Bible predicts the whole second half of the Bible.
Now let’s look at the last chapter of the Bible.
Revelation 22:21 says, “The grace (blessing and favor) of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with all the saints (God’s holy people, those set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively His), Amen (so let it be).”
A perfect ending to His perfect Word.
Simple and yet perfectly accurate.
God’s grace gave us His Son to die for us and bring us back to the Lord in all its fullness and meaning.
I am so grateful that the Lord had a plan and that His plan included me and you.
Today I choose to praise God His greatness and mercy and perfection.
May you find that as You praise the Lord, He will show Himself great and wonderful in your eyes.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for being the Great and Almighty God. I praise Your Name! I praise Your works! I praise You with my whole heart! You are my Deliverer. You are my Savior. You are my Strength and Power. You are my Hiding Place. Thank You for Your mercy, Father. Thank You for Your faithfulness to all Your people. Thank You for making a way to bring us close to You. Thank You for sending Your Son to deliver us from our sins. Thank You for presenting us perfect in Your sight. Thank You for choosing us to be Yours. Keep us Yours, Lord. Keep us in Your tender care. Continue to deliver us from ourselves and help us all bow down and praise You. No matter our circumstance, help us praise You and Your holy Name! May You bless this prayer and keep us Yours. Help us bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing our prayer.
Answer: I AM the Great I AM, and My plan is to save all people and bring them to Me.
Response: Help us follow You, Lord, and glorify Your Name!
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.