Praise Him!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

That refrain reminded me of other lyrics:

I saw how a man who was blind from birth,
In a moment was made to see;
The lame were made whole by matchless skill,
Of the Stranger of Galilee.

Fanny Crosby, lyricist of the first refrain, was blinded as an infant, and she was not made to see – except in her thoughts. There she found good reason to sing praises to the Galilean.

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. (Matthew 21:10-11 KJV)

My favorite hymns are based on scriptures – of course, or they wouldn’t be hymns to me. This one of Fanny’s could be tied to:

Praise ye the LORD. 
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
While I live will I praise the LORD:
I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
(Psalms 146:1-2 KJV)

But there are so many others that tell us to praise Him. We could sing to:

Praise ye the LORD.
Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. 

(Psalms 148:1-5 KJV)

I still love the sounds and lyrics when we sing the closing verse of a much longer poem:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Why all these praises on my mind? Because they remind me the express my thanks to God, to focus on Him, to describe in detail the many things for which I thank and praise Him. I am so not alone in this!

God has given me so much to enjoy, including my life. Not simply the life here in the world He set aside for mankind, but an eternal life with Him, planned from the first creation.

Kings of the earth, and all people;
princes, and all judges of the earth:
Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
Let them praise the name of the LORD:
for his name alone is excellent;
his glory is above the earth and heaven. 

(Psalms 148:11-13 KJV)

Join in with us this Sunday morning, praising the Lord!

Praise ye the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary:
praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts:
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath
praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
(Psalms 150:1-6 KJV)