Sounding Forth in Praise

        There are different sizes of type that are used in newspapers and the really big type size is reserved for the biggest news ever. When the second world war ended, many papers pulled out the largest type they had to use on the headline for that day. We tend to also use certain words to indicate something unusual has happened and one of the words that has been used a lot in today's news, even to the point of being overused, is the word “unprecedented.” I have heard it so many times in regard to the current situation. I guess there are now few things that are left to be unprecedented. One of the things that haven't figured on, however, is the rapture of the church. That will probably invoke the use of the word, “unprecedented” once more. Another word that is used too much is the word, “awesome.” It has been used so often that it is now commonplace among certain age groups. I knew one lady who used the word to describe almost anything that we did. We would finish a bell choir piece and her reply would be, “Awesome!” Personally, I think the word “awesome” should be reserved for God only. Psalm 9:1-2 says, “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.”

         The Psalmist seems to be rather excited about something in this passage. Notice all the things that the Psalmist does in reference to God. He will praise the LORD with his whole heart, he will show forth all of the LORD's marvelous works, He will be glad and rejoice in the LORD and he will sing praise to the LORD. It sounds like the Psalmist is rather happy when it comes to his feeling towards the LORD. There is a lot for us to learn in this passage especially about our attitudes during the issues of this present day. Today, the country is about 75% locked down and restricted to travel and any type of social mingling as we fight an invisible invader caused by a small virus. Restrictions are almost more strict than during war time as countries borders are secured around the world in an effort to keep people from becoming infected by this invisible enemy. Our life has changed to say the least. What are you doing with the extra time that you suddenly find in your life? Might I suggest the attitude of the Psalmist in today's passage? You can do that which seems idiotic such as counting the number of grains of rice in a bag, or the number of seeds in a strawberry. I once counted the number of little squares in an overhead light shield as I lay on my back after having had a medical procedure that wouldn't let me sit up for four hours and my back hurt after the first 30 minutes. Have you ever considered the marvelous works of the LORD? You can go from the flagella motor that exists in human cells to the grand canyon and see just a few of God's marvelous works. You can look at the photos from the Hubble space telescope and see some of God's marvelous works. You can look a the feathers on birds and see God's marvelous works. You can even look at your own finger prints, your own eyes and your DNA and see just a few God's marvelous works. After beholding such wonderful things, the natural response is simply to praise God for what you have just witnessed. Who knows, you may even break out in song and start singing the Hallelujah chorus. You can't keep all of this praise bottled up so you have to let it out to others and you then show it forth to those around you. When there is a song in your heart it often times makes it's way out and others hear it as you express your gratitude and thanks to our Wonderful Creator. Praise God today for His marvelous works.