Praise Is Not Circumstantially Based

“While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” (Ps 146:2 AV)

This is a remarkable vow when one considers all the Psalmist might face.  This vow is an immense and challenging one.  We do not know who the writer is unless we adhere to the Jewish tradition of ascribing the psalm to the last listed writer.  If that is the case, then this psalm is a psalm of David.  David, as we know, had a hard life.  His troubles are too numerous to list.  His trials included moral failures, threats on his life, abandonment of his most loyal servants, betrayal from his own family, and battles too frequent to not be considered normal.  As we said before, David had a hard life.  We do not know when he penned the above words.  My inclination is a bit later in life.  When he finally accepted that trouble was the way of life and that God was more than capable to see him through it all, he settled his heart and praised the LORD no matter the circumstances.  This vow above is one of the mature believer.

As I write this, I am sitting and watching a production of Handel’s Messiah.  I remember first hearing this production the year of my salvation.  As everyone is, I was familiar with the Hallelujah Chorus.  We have all heard it either in pieces or in its entirety without even knowing from where it came.  There is great tradition around this one movement.  It is said that a king rose to his feet in honor of the LORD Jesus Christ and that is why we still do practice this custom hundreds of years later.  I love the Hallelujah Chorus.  However, there is one movement I like above all others in the Messiah.  Based on Revelation 4:11, Worthy is the Lamb moves my heart more than others.  The production I am watching at the moment is the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Choral Society.  The Choral Society numbers in the hundreds.  Perhaps close to three hundred.  One of the reasons I love listening to this work is the unity of voice between so many.  They sing as one.  You cannot pick out one voice over another.  What strikes me is there are three hundred plus hearts all combining with one voice to praise God for the provision of Jesus Christ as our Messiah and Savior.  Those three hundred plus voices and accompanying orchestra have their individual struggles in life.  Watching the production, one would never know who was going through hard times and who, at the moment has a relatively stable life.  There could be loss of life, loss of health, loss of financial well-being, or a family that is falling apart.  Yet, they sing.  There could be a horrible diagnosis, a handicap, and a fit of deep depression.  Yet, they sing.  They could have had a falling out with a best friend, their children leaving the nest or a very sick spouse.  Whatever the case, they sing. In fact, this production features a chorus of deaf interpreters who are signing the entire work.  Imagine, not being able to hear what we take for granted.   Yet, they sing on.  What they are going through may add to the depth of their singing.  It probably does.  What they are singing could also be therapeutic.  It probably is.

The application is sure and plain.  I do not write this lightly.  For I, like everyone else, have a hard time praising God with my whole being when my world is falling apart.  The point to which David arrived was a maturity to accept life as God had designed it to be, relying on Him to get him from one stepping stone to another.  What he had decided not to do was allow the problems of life to rob God of the praise He deserves.  This vow, although serious, is also liberating.  When we praise God in both good times and in bad, life seems to even out a bit.  Trouble doesn’t seem so severe and we take blessings as a normal part of life.  The vow above is a serious one.  But it is a good one.  If our focus is on the goodness of God, we can endure quite a bit!  Let us raise our voices with one another regardless of what life has brought and praise the LORD for all of life’s blessings and challenges.  After all, we have eternal life and all that we experience in life will be but a distant memory a million years from now.