Thoughts for the Day

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens! .......

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Psalm 148 calls the world to praise God in this wonderful psalm. But what does "praising God" really mean? We know what it means when we praise a child, say, but is this the same thing? Well the first problem is that there are a number of Hebrew words for "Praise". We can look at a few though:

Hallel: This means to boast, brag, go somewhat mad and even look ridiculous, as King David did when the Ark of the Covenant was restored to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6.12-16). Jah: Is the short form of the name for God.

Hallelujah: So when we put the two together we get "Hallelujah" - an exuberant outcry about God, or spontaneous cry to God! (Not decorous quiet kind of praise, really!)

Zamar: This means to sing praises joyfully (in hymns or psalms), with musical instruments, before the Lord.

Perhaps this gives us more of an idea of what the word "Praise" means. All of us care called to joyful, exuberant, praise because God is our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord - and because He is worthy of our Praise.

Lord God Almighty,
we come before You this day,
to worship and praise You
We praise Your Holy name;
We praise You as our Creator;
We praise You as our Redeemer;
We praise You as our Lord.
Amen.