Psalm 119:175

Psalm 119:175

Live to praise Him!

“Let me live that I may praise You!” Some of us have stared death in the face and wondered if we will come out the other side. A sudden accident, a life-changing illness, an encounter with extreme danger, things like these cause us to face the prospect of dying and make us review our mortality. Suddenly, long-term planning seems a bit pointless, close relationships take on a different level of importance, ambitions and aspirations are put into perspective. It seems that the psalmist had good cause to review his life plan; as we have seen, there could have been many reasons for his concerns but whatever was looming over him, he had one very good reason to stay alive! That he might praise the Lord His God. 

This last stanza of the Psalm has focussed on praise a great deal, it’s clear that devotion to the Word and the laws of God were not just an intellectual exercise for the author, they drew praise and worship out of Him, they set his eyes on the glory of the Lord and prompted his tongue and his lips to burst forth in songs of joy. What better reason to live than to praise the Lord! In the midst of the noise and clamour of the world and much of its music, at least one voice was raised in exaltation of the Creator God, the supreme Being in the universe, the God who is above all gods. And if death beckons, what better plea for extended life than to be able to sing out praises to the Lord?

But this is not a one-sided relationship, as our praises ascend to heaven, so the Lord opens His Holy Word and reveals Himself to us on earth. His Word sustains, encourages, builds up, strengthens, inspires and sustains, nourishes and supports those who meditate upon it. He will feed us with everything we need until the moment when we are eventually taken from this world, the moment when we realise that what we enjoyed on earth is just a shadow of what awaits us in the world to come! Hallelujah! 

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