Devotion
Sing Praise to The Lord
Frances Taylor

I really love the psalms! I hope that you are reading this on a glorious January day, but if it's rainy or gloomy, this psalm should perk you up! How often do we really take the time to just praise God? We turn to God when we need something, when friends or family are suffering, or we hear of a tragedy. Sometimes we remember to say "thank you" to God for prayers answered, and we might even ask forgiveness for the times we have sinned, but how often do we just praise God for his goodness, for the blessing of a sunny day, for the glory of his creation or his saving grace? This psalm is the perfect prayer of praise. We are reminded of God's goodness, his mercy and faithfulness, not just to Israel but also to us. We are invited to sing God's praises with all creation. Actually the psalms in general are a great place to find the words when we don't know what to pray. The psalmists were honest with God and with themselves and so we have psalms of praise and worship, fear of abandonment and thanksgiving for rescue. We have psalms where they express their anger and frustration, their hopes and their joys. There will always be times in our lives when we can't find the words, when this happens, let us turn to the psalms. And may we find some time in each day to sing your praises.

Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for the gift of the psalms and for the reminder to always give you our thanks and praise. May we never take your gifts for granted. Amen.