A Psalm of David, 9:1 “I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;”
[You, O Lord God–Triune, Triumphant and Tremendous in grace, goodness and power–are worthy of praise.
As you have loved me,
cleansed me,
transformed me,
adopted me,
delighted in me,
giving me the opposite of what I deserve,
–how can I but respond with love, with praise, with admiration, thankfulness and whole-hearted rejoicing in you.
You are
my Lord and my King,
my Shepherd and my Rock,
my Savior and my Shield.
I rejoice in the great privilege of knowing you. You are worthy of praise no matter what comes into my life, so I will whole-heartedly exalt you both now and forever in eternity!]
“I will tell of all your wonders.”
[Great and many are your wonders, Lord God, beginning with your character:
you are Love,
Light and Life; in you there is
Purity, Perfection, and Power;
Greatness, Grace and Goodness;
Righteousness, Justice and Mercy.
You are Immortal, Invisible and Invincible.
You are Mighty, Magnificent and Marvelous.
You are God, Lord and Sovereign,
the Most High who rules forever.
You are without beginning,
without end
and without time.
You are a wonder, and we have not even come to your works: speaking all into existence–
the heavens,
the earth
and all that is in them;
holding all together;
holding back the tide of evil;
providing salvation for all your enemies.
In addition, you are willing to suffer disappointment, pain and grief every day as you shepherd us, your professed children, who often willfully disobey, disbelieve and disrupt.
You wait patiently for the right time to faithfully, lovingly and
firmly correct; you always act from pure motives and consistently do the right thing in the right way. You persist in making us lie down in green pastures where we can feed on your Word, mature and grow.
You weave all together into your plans to bring history to a conclusion, to eliminate evil and usher your children into an eternity of light, love and life. Your wonders are great and you are worthy of praise!
Help me to be a glory-giver today, taking every opportunity, positive or negative, to honor you by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and thereby fulfill the life purpose you have given me.
Alert me when I am about to be a glory-stealer by complaining, whining or feeling sorry for myself. In the light of your marvelous and majestic presence, what’s there to feel sorry about!!!? Honor yourself in my life today.
Picture: green pastures