Daily Devotions

Today, let me introduce your to word praise in a new way. Have you ever thought about it, we find this word in the psalms and we find it in many of the loved hymns of the church. But what is it that we are doing when we praise God. I recently read that 'Praising God isn’t just part of a formula for a good Christian lifestyle. Praising God will change your life! It will also help you develop a deeper relationship with God.'

So what does the word praise signify? In Hebrew there are two words that standout when considering the idea of praise. The first, Hallel,  means to shine, to be boastful, to glorify – Hallel is found throughout the Bible as a Hebrew word for Praise. The root for Hallel gives us two more important words. One is Hallelujah, a combination of “praise” (Hallel) and the name Yahweh – God’s personal name in Hebrew.

The second word we find throughout the Book of Psalms (Sefer Tehillim), Tehilah is a praise song. It is a spontaneous instruction to bring forth light and celebration with songs, shouts, and holy noise.

So what is the nature of this praise. Again I turn to the writings of C.S.Lewis who says, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.“

In Psalm 138:1-4 we find a declaration of worthy praise. “To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful; before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone. I bow before You, looking to Your holy temple, and praise Your name, for Your unfailing love and Your truth; for You have placed Your name and Your word over all things and all times. On the day I needed You, I called, and You responded and infused my soul with strength.”

Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) priest and great moral teacher said, “Let everything in creation draw you to God. Refresh your mind with some innocent recreation and needful rest, if it were only to saunter through the garden or the fields, listening to the sermon preached by the flowers, the trees, the meadows, the sun, the sky, and the whole universe. You will find that they exhort you to love and praise God; that they excite you to extol the greatness of the Sovereign Architect Who has given them their being.”

May we pray with the great Isaac Watts.

I'll praise my maker while I've breath,
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall possess my noblest powers;
my days of praise are never past
while life and thought and being last
or immortality endures. Amen