Psalms 146:1-2
(1) Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
(2) I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
It looks to me like the commitment here is not to make praise a conditional thing. The promise is not to praise the Lord while things are good. Rather, it looks like a commitment to praise the Lord in all times. I am reminded of Paul's imperative for us:
Philippians 4:4
(4) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
This isn't a matter of personal preference like choosing chocolate or vanilla ice cream. This is an imperative. But how do we do this?
I really recommend John Piper's Book When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. It is full of practical spiritual disciplines that will help in this fight.
Incidentally, the verb translated "praise" in the Psalm is "halal." That is where we get "hallelujah" from.
Meanderings about my journey with Jesus.
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1 comment:
Praise the Lord!! What we need more than almost anything else in our lives is PRAISE and WORSHIP. I think all Christians would be much more vital and effective if we just focused more on glorifying God. Put yourself to the test; you cannot praise God and remain unhappy. Hallelujah!
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