A Closer Walk
When we think of passages in our Bibles that offer praises to God we tend to look to the Psalms. But there are many others scattered throughout the Scriptures. This is one of them. "O give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek Him be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done...Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns'...O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting...Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. Then all the people said, 'Amen,'" 1 Chronicles 16:8-12 and 31, 34, and 36 NASB.
This was on the occasion of the Israelites, led by King David, bringing the Ark of the Covenant into a tent which David had built for it. "And they brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God...Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD," 1 Chronicles 16:1 and 7 NASB. King David assigned a Levite named Asaph and his relatives to offer thanks to the LORD. Shouldn't we be offering thanks for the various and plentiful things our God has blessed us with?
It is likely that if we are honest with ourselves we could be offering our Lord and our God more thanksgivings and more praises than we are currently. Each of us have been blessed abundantly by the Lord. Not the least of which is being born in and living in the United States of America. Further we are blessed to be living in Concordia, Kansas. Do we recognize those things as blessings?
The passage also tells us that we are to make known his deeds among the peoples. Not just our people, but other people as well. That would include people outside our families, outside our community and state, and people all around the world. We can do that by supporting the missions projects within our own churches as well as the missionaries that our churches have sent out or support. But we are personally responsible ourselves to tell of our God's deeds and wonders. What is a wonder? Go look in the mirror. Hold a baby. Eat a meal. Get dressed. Drive a car. Enjoy a flower. Mow the lawn (notice the aroma of newly mown grass? God did not have to provide that aroma). Our Lord has provided all these wonders for us to partake of and enjoy. Many are His deeds. And marvelous are His wonders, you and I among them. Amen?
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. And His lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting.
“Let's just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let's just lift our hands to heaven and praise the Lord; Let's just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! We thank you for your kindness, We thank you for your love, We have been in heavenly places, Felt blessings from above; we've been sharing all the good things, the family can afford, Let's just turn our hearts toward heaven and praise the Lord.” Words and music by Gloria Gaither, born in 1942 and still serving the Lord. She is currently the scriptwriter and narrator for the “Gaither Homecoming Series,” and has been present in every “Homecoming” video. (Sourced from Hymnary)