Praise for God should be in our heart at all times and on our lips often. Psalm 146 is a wonderful Psalm to help us to remember why we love God and what our beliefs in God really are all about. It is fitting that the last verse of this Psalm helps us to remember that praise of God demonstrates our personal belief that God is eternal and reigns over everyone and everything. “The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord,” (Psalm 146:10 NIV). God is eternal. God is not here today and gone tomorrow. God always has been and always will be. We can trust God for the lives we live today and we can trust God for the life we will live in eternity.
The God of the Psalmist, the God of the Pilgrims who came to America, and the God we worship will be the same God for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and on and on and on for eternity. Our God is an eternal God. This God we worship and praise is a King who reigns forever in His Kingdom that encompasses the entire universe. When we take time to praise God we should remember that God does have a Kingdom and that He is the King and that we are His loyal subjects. We are to give Him the honor and glory that is rightfully due such a majestic being who reigns in righteousness, grace and mercy forever.
When we view ourselves in light of the Glorious eternal God we must ask with the Psalmist, “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:4 NIV). When we are honest with ourselves we understand that what the Apostle Paul said is true, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 NIV). Our eternal loving God who is totally righteous and full of grace and mercy has provided for our sinful condition. He did so by sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins though Jesus Himself was sinless. Our loving eternal God wants us to live with Him forever so He has provided for us in this wicked world a way back to Him, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 6:23 NIV). Yes, God is at work in this wicked world and He wants everyone to join Him in heaven for eternity and He has made the path to heaven simple for us, “For, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Romans 10:13 NIV). Let us all Praise the Lord!
-DR. CHUCK DAVIS-
