Another Psalm that goes along with this one is Psalm 9:9-10, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who trust You.” But when we’re ambushed by sickness or loss, putting our faith and trust in the Lord may be difficult, especially if what we think should happen isn’t materializing. That’s when we start doubting everything…our spiritual strength, our faith level, even our reliance in the Lord. This Psalm talks of surrounding ourselves with Songs of Deliverance. Now Songs of Deliverance were used to not only praise God for bringing them through a battle victoriously, but to recall God’s power and provision in the past, as well as to declare confidence in Him in the future. These songs showed God’s omnipresence and omniscience…that He was present in all places at all times with unlimited authority and understanding. We all have within us a unique and very personal Song of Deliverance. It’s made up of past battles, victories, and how God has worked in our life…and should be used in times of trouble to bolster our faith.
Tag: hymns of praise
Exodus 15:2 ” The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
Something happens to us as we learn to trust the Lord. Our reliance on our-self diminishes as our dependence on Him increases. Our old self, with all its baggage, slowly falls away as we learn to trust and have confidence in Him and His plan for our life. And as we’re changed from the inside out, true joy, happiness, and hope fill us to overflowing…and we too can then join in this song of praise from Moses and Miriam.
Psalm 146:2 ” I will praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”
When we praise the Lord with a heart full of thankfulness…we rise. We rise above our circumstances, we rise above the current pain, and we rise above our negative emotions. But when we just complain to the Lord…we remain. We remain stagnant in the mess around us, and we remain unhappy…wallowing in self-pity. Now that’s not saying we can’t ever complain to the Lord…Jeremiah and Habakkuk did for a few…but in the end they turned their protests into praise. That’s because they looked beyond their griping and grumbling to the bigger picture of gratitude. When we praise, we rise…but when we complain, we remain.
Psalm 105:2 ” Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.”
Everyday we should be celebrating the many blessings from God…for He does things far beyond the bounds of what we think, expect, or can even imagine. Genesis 18:14 goes further to ask, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” But I heard an interesting sermon the other day challenging the idea of just what a blessing was. Do we thank God only for the good things we have, and that happen to us. Or do we praise Him also for all the difficult, uncomfortable, and bad things that come into our lives? How do we know that something meant for bad can’t suddenly be turned around by God for good? For what we see as affliction, can become the way to deeper holiness and sanctification in our life…or what appears to be a difficult situation may turn out to be a godsend in the end. This gives new meaning then to the song “Count your many Blessings”…for we need to praise God for everything that comes into our lives…the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Acts 16: 25-26 ” About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.”
Earlier in the day, Paul and Silas had been stripped, severely flogged and then thrown into prison. So we now find them hours later holding their own praise and worship service to a rather captive audience of fellow prisoners and guards. They could have wallowed in their sorrow and pain, but instead chose to worship God. When we praise God in the midst of impossible situations, the atmosphere changes and with it, our attitude. Our eyes are taken off the incurable, the grief-stricken, the hopeless dilemma…and allows God to work in miraculous ways. It says here that the earthquake caused all the prison doors to open…not just the one to Paul and Silas’s cell, and that everybody’s chains came off…not just theirs. When our focus is on praise rather than on self-pity, everyone around us will be blessed.
Safetypinlove 