“I will sing a new song to You, my God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to You, to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David.” (Psalm 145:9-10 NIV)
David had been writing about battle. He wrote how God was the One who trained his hands for war. David had received his combat education while tending to his flock in the open fields of Bethlehem. His war strategy was singular: protect the sheep at all cost.
David recognized his wins were all due to the divine help he had received. He rightly saw God as His fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield and refuge. He knew God alone to be the subduer of the enemy. He trusted the Lord to protect His people.
David wrote psalm 144, yet another hymn of praise. We read his lyrics and realize that praise always proceeds the victory. Praise is paramount in winning life’s battles.
Praise amidst persecution goes against our very nature, doesn’t it? We want to save our hooting and hollering until the end, when the win is secure, right? But remember, my friend, we aren’t praising God just for what He’s done, we are praising Him for who He is. And God doesn’t change. We can praise Him today for what He will accomplish tomorrow because His character is unwavering. Praise is simply our expression of understanding of His character. He is faithful. He’ll win the battle, He always does. We can go ahead and give Him the praise He’s entitled to.
“I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
(Psalm 145 1-3 NIV)
I’ve recently met someone who has a habit of saying “We’ll be careful to give You all the praise.” His words prick my heart. So often our flesh grabs hold of praise that rightly belongs to God. Or we grumble when we could be offering the sacrifice of praise. Yesterday, I had opportunity to ask this man about the origin of his saying. He happily spilled his dad’s story, a battle with multiple sclerosis and a miraculous healing. His father had arrived at an agreement with God: restore my frame and I’ll be careful to give You the praise for the rest of my life.
King David strikes me as the sort of man who was careful to give God the praise. David had been to the brink of death more than once, and his God always came through. I look back over my first forty-two years and see the same sort of faithfulness, a flawless track record with my Creator. I, too, will be careful to give Him the praise.
Lord, we battle daily: our flesh and our enemy. Please make us careful to give You the praise, even as the war is raging. We don’t want to gripe and we don’t want to grab what will never belong to us. You get the glory, O faithful, constant Creator. May we be quick to praise amidst crisis and conquest alike. Amen.