Psalm 119:171

Psalm 119:171

Lips overflowing with praise

This verse seems to flow on from its predecessor. Verse 170 talks about the Lord’s deliverance and this is the reason why the author’s lips overflowed with praise. Public praise to the Lord has changed a great deal from what was deemed to be acceptable when I was growing up. Back in those days we all held hymn books and kept our hands in our pockets as we stared down at the pages with their well-known words. We tried to keep in tune with the harmonium, organ or piano that was being played and were totally at the mercy of the style and emotional input of the musician in charge. Today’s church services have changed a great deal in non-conformist congregations, hands are for raising in the air, hymn books are obsolete and gathering dust in a cupboard, and the organs have been replaced with guitars, but the sentiment remains the same. 

What is praise to the Lord? If it is just corporate enjoyment of familiar, modern tunes then the sound never rises higher than the ceiling of the building. If praise, however, is a genuine, heart-felt expression of gratitude offered as a sacrifice to the Lord, then those notes shatter the stratosphere and are heard resounding around the throne room of heaven! And we don’t have to be among large crowds to praise the Lord! We can do it alone and here and now. And we don’t have to make a loud noise, we can praise Him gently and softly and without human language if we so desire. It is the reason for our praise and the object of our praise that matters. It must be sincere, or it is nothing at all. 

To be continued!

 

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