A Commitment to Praise

1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 

2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

                                                                                                                                        Psalm 138:1, 2

The Psalms are my favorite book of the Bible.  When I finish reading through the Psalms, I start right back at chapter one.  

Some time back, I memorized Psalm 138.  It's a beautiful Psalm that divides nicely into three sections:

    A Commitment to Praise

    A Concern for the Lost

    A Confidence in God

These verses reveal David's commitment to praise.  Four times, David says, "I will."  He says,

    I will praise, I will praise, I will worship, and I will praise

He doesn't hold back.  He commits to praising God with his whole heart, not half.  He commits to praising in good and bad times.

He commits to praising God before the gods.  This can include high officials of men as well as false deities.  David boldly committed to stand for his God in the face of opposition to God.  

He commits to praising God with specificity.  He worships towards the holy temple.  He is focused on God and His habitation.  This reminds me of Daniel who opened his windows towards Jerusalem and prayed thrice daily.  In a world of distracted and fairweather Christianity, we need specificity and purpose in our worship.

Lastly, David commits to praising God for his lovingkindness and truth.  In the Person of Jesus, God's lovingkindness and truth find perfect union.  "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."  (John 1:14)

We certainly have many reasons to praise God for His lovingkindness and truth.  

I don't know all the implications behind the statement, "...Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."  However, I do know that God's name wouldn't have the power that it does if it were not for the reliability of His word.

By His word, the heavens were made.  By His word, men live.  His word is always true, always faithful.  

The greatest revelation of His Word is seen in the Lord Jesus Christ.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  

David ends this section by recalling God's faithfulness in his days of struggle and distress.  God deserves our commitment and so much more.  No matter what we are going through, we can hide in Him and draw strength from Him.

I want to be committed to praising God and loving His Word.  David certainly was.