A STUDY OF PSALMS 149
d ia U & L u fa h . by A l Sanders
That’s because praise should be uni versal. The verse says that “ye” are to praise the Lord. That personal pro noun “ye” refers only to the saints, men and women who are sanctified, who are set apart by God because of His love and grace. You may not look like a saint. Your husband may not look like one, but if, by faith, you have received Jesus Christ as per sonal Saviour, based on the Word of God, you’re a saint, and as such you are to offer praise. Notice, too, to whom all this praise rightly belongs. It is to the Lord. He is the only One who is deserving of our grateful adoration. You know, praise even as does prayer, changes things. In the 16th chapter of the book of Acts, we read in verse 25 and 26 that “At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God.” The result was that immediately all of the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed. Now most of us are in a prison, at least in a sense. We have problems and frustrations, burdens and pressures on every side. What we need to do is to stop and follow the example of these saints. We should p ray earnestly and sing praises to God. By doing this, you can be sure that you’ll find those doors beginning to open and your bands will be loosed. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It can happen. 3
C hapter O ne I n recent years , the book of Psalms has become more and more precious and meaningful to me especially from a devotional, historic, and prophetic standpoint. My goal has been to memorize at least one verse from every chapter. There are some won derfully helpful truths which can be retained in one’s mind in this prac tical manner. I ’d like to direct your attention to the 149th Psalm. The first verse testifies, “Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise in the con gregation of saints.” It is particu larly fascinating to me to realize that although we are now nearing the end of this great book, the intensity of expression is undiminished. As we conclude, we find that it is still with a note of praise. Just look now at the way the Psalm begins, “Praise ye the Lord!” Then see how the Psalm ends, “Praise ye the Lord!” What a pattern for us! So should be our pathway on this earth, filled with praise from the beginning to the ending. Now that word praise is actually in the original hallelujah. It can be translated, Hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. That’s about the best way for us really to define it. I love that ex pressive word “Hallelujah!” It’s an interesting one, because as far as I know, in nearly every language of the world, it is translated the same.
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