We will ride far lands where the only companions are wind and rain and sun.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Man From the Broken Hills)
“The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose.”
“The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose.”
–Ecclesiastes 1:5 (NKJV)
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“The primary occupation and chief preoccupation of all saints should be rendering to God. This is to be every believer’s all-encompassing focus in his life,” states Steven Lawson. Psalm 113 calls on each of us to praise the Lord.
1 — Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
2 — Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore!
3 — From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name is to be praised.
4 — The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.
5 — Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high,
6 — Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
7 — He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
8 — That He may seat him with princes–with the princes of His people.
9 — He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD! (NKJV)
No matter where you are in life, the highs or the lows, know that God is there. When you feel that God has lost track of you somewhere along the way, know that He is watching your every breath. George Wood gives some wonderful advice, “You must learn to distinguish how you feel from what you know.” So many people, especially in the Pentecostal/Charismatic world tend to give way to feelings, their emotive self. Feelings are not always to be trusted, and there are some people who are definitely more prone to show their feelings. We do not live or go by feelings. They are wonderful, but they should be viewed as an effect not the deciding factor. Emotions may lead you astray and you might not feel like praising the Lord. Guess what? Praise Him anyway!
Praise (hallel) in verse 1, literally means “to be bright, to shine, to be splendid, to boast.” Lawson says that “It carries the idea of an exuberance, radiance, jubilance, or celebration. It means to light up for God, to be radiant for God, to be shining forth for God, to boast in Him, to brag in Him.” Know that praise is an exercise of the will. It is something that we may not feel like doing, but we do it because God is worthy.
Praise (barak) in verse 2, means “to bend the knee, to kneel down, to bless.” We are to kneel before Him in submission. Who are we to think we are superior to the great God of the universe? Today many will view the eclipse–something that God put in motion at the beginning of time. When you view the eclipse today, think beyond it and praise the One who brought the laws of physics and science into existence. Praise Him for He is far beyond an eclipse of the sun. The man who dares to say there is no God is in dangerous territory, for he is actually saying that he does not have to bow to his Creator.
Speaking of the sun, look at verse 3. “From the rising of the sun to its going down” we are to praise the Lord. Thus, we are to praise Him all day long. This verse also implies that wherever the sun is we are to praise the Lord. Whether in Texas or Timbuktu, we are to praise the Lord. Whether in the morning hours as the sun rises in the East or at noontime we are to praise the Lord.
The next several verses tell us the causes for praise. He is exalted over the nations. There is no place over which He is not the sovereign God. If you want to believe in ET, aliens from outer space know that if there is such a thing, they are under His sovereign control. In fact, His glory goes beyond what we know about the cosmos. It is above the heavens and beyond the universe. There is no one like the Lord. No one can come close to compare to Him. Lawson puts it this way, “No one is higher than God, as high as God, or even slightly lower than God. He is infinitely higher than His creation, transcendent above, towering in glory.” Yet this mighty God, takes the time to look at the things of earth; He takes the time to watch your every step, in fact, He even counts the hairs on your head. He raises those in anguish whether temporal or spiritual.
The devil likes nothing better than to get our focus on our problems and woes and take them off the mighty God. He loves to bring the fog of life into our situations so that we do not look to the great God. The opposite should actually be the case. In the midst of our woes, tough times, and trials we should praise the Lord all the more. Our eyes will move from our situation and issues and will go back to its rightful place–looking squarely upon the Lord. Recall the words of the early saint, Augustine, “Man’s chief work is the praise of God.”
“He can raise the poor to stand
With the princes of the land,
Wealth upon the needy shower,
Set the smallest high in power.
Who is like our God most high,
Infinite in majesty?”
–Josiah Conder
—————————————
“The primary occupation and chief preoccupation of all saints should be rendering to God. This is to be every believer’s all-encompassing focus in his life,” states Steven Lawson. Psalm 113 calls on each of us to praise the Lord.
1 — Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
2 — Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore!
3 — From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name is to be praised.
4 — The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.
5 — Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high,
6 — Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
7 — He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
8 — That He may seat him with princes–with the princes of His people.
9 — He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD! (NKJV)
No matter where you are in life, the highs or the lows, know that God is there. When you feel that God has lost track of you somewhere along the way, know that He is watching your every breath. George Wood gives some wonderful advice, “You must learn to distinguish how you feel from what you know.” So many people, especially in the Pentecostal/Charismatic world tend to give way to feelings, their emotive self. Feelings are not always to be trusted, and there are some people who are definitely more prone to show their feelings. We do not live or go by feelings. They are wonderful, but they should be viewed as an effect not the deciding factor. Emotions may lead you astray and you might not feel like praising the Lord. Guess what? Praise Him anyway!
Praise (hallel) in verse 1, literally means “to be bright, to shine, to be splendid, to boast.” Lawson says that “It carries the idea of an exuberance, radiance, jubilance, or celebration. It means to light up for God, to be radiant for God, to be shining forth for God, to boast in Him, to brag in Him.” Know that praise is an exercise of the will. It is something that we may not feel like doing, but we do it because God is worthy.
Praise (barak) in verse 2, means “to bend the knee, to kneel down, to bless.” We are to kneel before Him in submission. Who are we to think we are superior to the great God of the universe? Today many will view the eclipse–something that God put in motion at the beginning of time. When you view the eclipse today, think beyond it and praise the One who brought the laws of physics and science into existence. Praise Him for He is far beyond an eclipse of the sun. The man who dares to say there is no God is in dangerous territory, for he is actually saying that he does not have to bow to his Creator.
Speaking of the sun, look at verse 3. “From the rising of the sun to its going down” we are to praise the Lord. Thus, we are to praise Him all day long. This verse also implies that wherever the sun is we are to praise the Lord. Whether in Texas or Timbuktu, we are to praise the Lord. Whether in the morning hours as the sun rises in the East or at noontime we are to praise the Lord.
The next several verses tell us the causes for praise. He is exalted over the nations. There is no place over which He is not the sovereign God. If you want to believe in ET, aliens from outer space know that if there is such a thing, they are under His sovereign control. In fact, His glory goes beyond what we know about the cosmos. It is above the heavens and beyond the universe. There is no one like the Lord. No one can come close to compare to Him. Lawson puts it this way, “No one is higher than God, as high as God, or even slightly lower than God. He is infinitely higher than His creation, transcendent above, towering in glory.” Yet this mighty God, takes the time to look at the things of earth; He takes the time to watch your every step, in fact, He even counts the hairs on your head. He raises those in anguish whether temporal or spiritual.
The devil likes nothing better than to get our focus on our problems and woes and take them off the mighty God. He loves to bring the fog of life into our situations so that we do not look to the great God. The opposite should actually be the case. In the midst of our woes, tough times, and trials we should praise the Lord all the more. Our eyes will move from our situation and issues and will go back to its rightful place–looking squarely upon the Lord. Recall the words of the early saint, Augustine, “Man’s chief work is the praise of God.”
“He can raise the poor to stand
With the princes of the land,
Wealth upon the needy shower,
Set the smallest high in power.
Who is like our God most high,
Infinite in majesty?”
–Josiah Conder