Marvelous, Wonderful, Infinite God
Author of all that is good
Faithful Provider and Giver of life
Source of all power and love
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise
Refuge of strength to the end
Righteous Redeemer and mighty to save
He’s the Anchor of Hope for the souls of men
Gracious, Compassionate, Merciful God
Radiant, holy Delight
Beautiful Father, Victorious Son
Source of unchangeable Light
You are Light in the dark,
You are healing for the broken heart
You are Hope, you are Lord,
You are Life, you are Love that endures
Powerful, Constant, Unwavering God
Shepherd who comes for the lost
Rock of salvation, Remarkable Love
Savior Who died on the Cross
Ellie Holcomb, singer/songwriter
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Sometimes, I think, we sing and speak out our praise of our great God in simple, few words… Y’know…”Praise the Lord! Praise You, Jesus! I give You praise! You are worthy of praise! Praise You!” These are the words that come from my mouth oh-so-many times; you, too? But I do believe that many times my praises should be filled with specific expressions of my gratitude and acknowledgement of just Who He is.
We do this when we are relating our praise about others, right? When I am praising any other person on this earth, I don’t simply say–for example, ‘Oh, I just praise Kassia…she’s so good!’ Or, ‘Oh, you should see that Cynda; wow!’ No; I say, ‘Oh, it was so awesome! Can I tell you about how Clella ministered to me when she wrote about giving thanks…? She shared some very impactful verses.’ Shouldn’t it be likewise, when praising Almighty God, I should be specific about His awesome lovingkindness, His mercy, His grace, His steadfast love!?! Yes?
The Psalmist—King David— was really, really, really good at this! Of the 150 individual psalms which form the Book of Psalms in the Bible, more than 80 have been ascribed to David. David, who God called ‘a man after my own heart,’ wrote phrase after phrase (praise after praise!) filled with praises of His God…and praising Him specifically. Listen to a few examples of David’s praises.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 107:1
The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
The God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
Who delivered me from my enemies;
yes, You exalted me above those who rose against me;
You rescued me from the man of violence.
For this I will praise you, O Lord….
Psalms 18:46-49
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!
So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.
All the earth worships You and sings praises to You;
they sing praises to your name.”
Selah
Psalms 66:1-4
As is written in Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord {that is you and me!} say so…” Be specific when you sing or speak or shout your praises to Your loving Father! And when you are praising Him to others…use words to tell them about how wonderful, loving, faithful, compassionate, merciful, and gracious your heavenly Father is! As Mrs. Ellie Holcomb has done in this song—she sings out her praises of what He has done and how very good He is! I love to sing along with her blessing my God and praising and thanking Him! You, too?
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Oh, Lord, we do so love to praise You—and we have so very many, many, many opportunities to praise You for Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your kindness, Your love! Forgive us, Lord, when we have failed to voice the whys of our praises! We, truly, have so very much to praise and thank You for…may we not be remiss in telling you exactly why! We love You and adore you, Lord! Please hear our thankfulness as we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
