The Gift of You

“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You”

Psalm 63:3  


It was Mark Twain who once said, “I can go for three months on one good compliment.” It’s true. Most of us would admit that we could hear ninety-nine compliments in the course of the day and one negative one and we would find ourselves dwelling on the negative more than all the positive. The book of James reminds us that bitter and sweet water cant come out of the same well.

As I was preparing for this last weekends teaching and again last night for our mid week study a couple of different passages alluded to praising God as both a gift to us for the ability we have to be able to worship the true and the living God and as well, to be able to offer our praise to God as a gift from us to Him. One commentator said that our praise is the only thing God doesn’t already possess. It makes perfect sense in that everything that exists does so because of God and all things that have been created were created by Him and for Him, including me and you. And yet God does not force us to worship Him. Yes, God knows those who do and will but He does not force us to give Him praise. God created mankind in His image and that means we have the ability to reason and to choose.

It’s no wonder King David was considered a man after God’s own heart. We read all throughout the book of Psalms of David singing to God and worshipping Him. I have always been drawn to Psalm 32 since the first time I read it when I gave my life to the Lord back in 1980. Psalm 34:2 says, “My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.” King David undoubtedly “whistled while he worked” and sang out loud as he traveled from place to place. He is credited after all with 75 of the 150 Psalms that make up the book of Psalms. You could say King David always had a song in his heart. How about you? Whats the song playing in your heart today?

C. H. Spurgeon wisely said, “He who praises God for blessings will always have blessings for which to praise God.” One of the reasons David was so blessed throughout his life I believe is that he determined in his heart to be one who continually praised God. Everything is contagious, even our worship and praise. Have you ever heard someone whistling a tune or singing a song and then later on you find yourself whistling, or singing the exact same song and thinking to yourself, “where did that song come from”, as you remember hearing it earlier that day.
 
Many of the Psalms David complied were captured for us in the book of Psalms and thousands of years later men and women and children are reading the words on paper and suddenly a song is birthed in their heart that they too find themselves humming or singing. King David’s love for the Lord and the joy he knew from worshiping God became an invitation to me and you today as Psalm 34:3 proclaims,  “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”  

There is nothing like the church coming together and singing God’s praises and worshiping Him. There is a dynamic in corporate worship that cant exist in worshiping alone. Not only do we grow in the knowledge of God and our understanding of Him, our appreciation grows too. Even though the primary means of worship is to express God’s worth and to bless His name, we are shaped and changed each time we enter into heart felt worship. It’s been asked often throughout the ages, “What do you get for the person who has everything?” With regard to God, the number one choice is praise. Give God the gift praise today knowing every time you do its your gift to Him. Don’t forget, your life is God’s gift to you, what you do with your life is your gift to God. Praise Him!

“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”

Psalm 63:5

I LOVE YOU!