Praise
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 113)
I finished dinner Sunday evening and trudged to the closet to get my walking shoes. I still needed to put in about 3000 steps to reach my goal for the day. I did not want to walk; it had been raining on and off all day and curling up in the chair watching television was so much easier. However, I put on the shoes and hit the pavement. As I came out of the breezeway of my apartment building and made a left, I had no words but stood in awe. After the day's dreariness, the clouds parted, and the sky was purple, orange, and pink. It was the most amazing sunset I had seen in a while. The dread I had felt a few minutes earlier melted away.
I am reminded of a camp song that uses the words found in Psalm 113, the one listed above. “From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised. Praise ye the Lord, praise ye the Lord. From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised.”
I get caught up at times in all that is going on around me, responsibilities, commitments and more. I find that I forget to praise God for all that I have. This song and Psalm remind me that from the time the sun comes up until it goes down, I need to be praising God. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, a simple thank you for this day is good and or whatever you are thankful for. Praising God needs to be number one for us. So, remember, “from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised. So, praise ye the Lord, praise ye the Lord. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised”.