HE IS OUR PRAISE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set His affection on your forefathers and loved them, and He chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.”

“Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”

“Fear the Lord your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name. He is your praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.”

Deuteronomy 10:14-22

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Webster-Merriam dictionary defines “praise” as expressing a favorable judgment or commending as well as glorifying something or someone especially by the attribution of perfections. This word “praise” is derived from the Middle English word “preisen” which came from the Anglo-French word “preiser/priser” meaning to appraise and esteem.

As we consider the matter of praise, we find there are many reasons to adopt it in life. We might praise a person for the great things they have done. We might praise something we see as being noteworthy, beautiful, or miraculous. Typically, we have no problem showing praise for the things of the world.

But how well do we show praise to the One through which all praiseworthy things are possible?

This is the point in our passage today as we look at the final verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 10, as Moses attempts to open the eyes of Israel to God, their God, the One who was supposed to be their praise.

We see Moses begin by reminding Israel (and us as well) that all things are from God, the Almighty Maker of Heaven and earth:

“To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.”

In other words, everyone belongs to God and as we learned from a previous message, we are His treasured possession.

Indeed, God highly values everyone He has made and shows no favoritism or partiality. He is especially concerned with the underprivileged, defending “the cause of the fatherless and the widow” and loving “the alien, giving him food and clothing.”

The scriptures make it clear that He expects His people to do the same, even going as far as reminding the Israelites that they were once aliens themselves during their oppressive captivity in Egypt. At that the beginning of that enslavement, their numbers were few, seventy in all, but now, as they were on the brink of entering Canaan, the land God had promised to their forefathers, their population had exploded. We read where God had allowed them to be fruitful and multiply as He commanded so to make them as “numerous as the stars in the sky.”

Today, we see how God’s family has grown exponentially, a rich multitude of saints who believed in His Son, and in doing so, became His children who would live with Him forever.

For through Jesus, God through open the gates of Heaven for anyone who believed in Jesus, whether Jew and Gentile (anyone not a Jew). All who placed their faith and trust in His Son, the Savior of the world, would gain the assurance of eternal life. Indeed, as Jesus made clear, no one can come to the Father except by way of His Son, the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6), the slain Lamb of God who was and is worthy to receive “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12)

Truly, we are a blessed people who belong to a mighty, awesome God who saved us for His own through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  

Friends, this amazing, miraculous, all-powerful God is to be our praise. Indeed, He is worthy of all we can muster and we need to persistently lift Him up, glorifying Him with every breath we take within every day He blesses us with. We need to confess and profess that all things are by and through Him, and my hope is that we’ll all live out these words of one of my favorite classic hymns, All Creatures of Our God and King:

Verse 1:

All creatures of our God and King

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 2:

Thou rushing wind that art so strong

Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,

O praise Him! Alleluia!

Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,

Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 3:

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,

Make music for thy Lord to hear,

O praise Him! Alleluia!

Thou fire so masterful and bright,

That givest man both warmth and light.

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 4:

Dear mother earth, who day by day

Unfoldest blessings on our way,

O praise Him! Alleluia!

The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,

Let them His glory also show.

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 5:

And all ye men of tender heart,

Forgiving others, take your part,

O sing ye! Alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,

Praise God and on Him cast your care!

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 6:

And thou most kind and gentle Death,

Waiting to hush our latest breath,

O praise Him! Alleluia!

Thou leadest home the child of God,

And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 7:

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship Him in humbleness,

O praise Him! Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Chorus:

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.