Praising Our God

Praising Our God

How quickly the years pass by now that I am in my seventies—now past the three score and ten which measure a person’s full life. (Psalm 90:10) It really does seem just like last year when I sat down to write out seventy—two praises for our great God, as He had blessed my life with Himself, His Leading and Guiding, and His People. Now, as I begin year Seventy-Three I feel led to focus on the centrality of His Excellence and His Being. I confess that throughout the days which make up my swiftly flying years, I feel truly convicted: I never do praise God enough. NEVER! Ironically, after praising God, my heart feels light, my soul sings with joy, and my mind rests at peace. So, I seek to consecrate this week’s writing as I focus all my attention and praise on our wonderful God. Rev. Dr. Musa Bawa, my first principal at Baptist High School in Jos, Nigeria, always loved to have the students sing this now 150 year-old hymn:

“To God be the glory, great things He has done,
so loved He world that He gave us His Son,
who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gates that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the  Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father
through Jesus the Son,
and give Him the glory,
great things He has done.”
(Fanny Crosby, 1875)

So, join me as I give glory to God: The Father, God: The Son,  God: The Holy Spirit: God and His Earth, God and His Gospel, God and His Church, and God and His Throne.

 

God: The Father

Acts 17:28 ESV

. . . for “In him we live and move
and have our being.”

My God and my Father, I come to You with PRAISE.

I praise You as my perfect Father.
I praise You as my eternal Father.
I praise You as my omnipotent, my all powerful Father.
I praise You as my omniscient, my all knowing Father.
I praise You as my omnipresent,
everywhere present, Father.
I praise You as my Creator Father.
I praise You as my Redemptive Father.
I praise You as my Perfecting Father.
I praise You as my always attentive Father.
I praise You as my loving Father.

God: The Son

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

My God and my Father, I come to You with praise for Jesus, my Savior.

I praise You  for the Incarnation (God coming to live among us) of Jesus.
I praise You for His  humble birth in Bethlehem.
I praise You for providing His parents on Earth, Mary and Joseph and their faithfulness.
I praise You for His deliverance and His escape to Egypt.
I praise You for His childhood and youth in Nazareth among common people.
I praise You for His love for and understanding of the Scriptures, even as a twelve-year old.
I praise You for His perfect obedience, even when facing Satan in the Wilderness.
I praise You for His teaching, His healing, His day-to-day just living comfortably  among His people.
I praise You for Jesus’ perfect example of
trust and obedience.
I paise You for His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, and for His victory over sin as he arose triumphant
from the Tomb.

 

God: The Holy Spirit 

2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV

”The grace of the Lord Jesus Chirst
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.”

My God and my Father, I praise You for the Holy Spirit who lives in my heart and daily comforts, corrects,  and guides me.

I praise You as He has sealed me with Salvation.
I praise You as He daily convicts me of my sin.
I praise You as He enlightens my mind
as I read Your Holy Scripture.
I praise You as He strengthens me as I face daily battles.
I praise You as He gives me peace in the midst of storms.
I praise You as He delights me with joy
at the marvelous works of Your hands.
I praise You as He perfects Your love in my heart.
I praise You as He develops within me the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.
I praise You as He guides me clearly
on Your Pathway for me.
I praise You as He reveals Your glory to me.

 

God: His Earth

Revelation 21:3 ESV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them as their God.

My God and my Father, I praise You for this beautiful, though sin-corrupted Earth, and for the New Earth you have promised.

I praise You for the grand scale of creation
which inspires my heart.
I praise You for the sun, the moon,
and the stars which inspire me.
I praise You for the oceans, the mountains,
and the valleys, which fill my mind with wonder.
I praise You for animals, small and large,
which illustrate Your grandeur.
I praise you for the parables for life
the animals teach me.
I praise You for the patterns in Creation
which guide me as I daily live.
I praise You for all your provisions; air and water and food, which You abundantly supply.
I praise You for particular beauties; sunrise, sunset, rainbows, flowers, birds and people
which brighten up my days.
I praise You for the Holy Spirit’s inspired desire
in my heart for the perfection of the Earth.
I praise You for the New Earth as
Your Guaranteed Promise.

God: His Gospel

John 3: 16 ESV

”For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not perish
but have eternal life.”

My God and my Father, I praise You for Your Eternal, Your Perfect Gospel.

I praise You for providing from eternity Your plan
for saving every one of Your children.
I praise You for seeking each of us so we can be found.
I praise You for eternally overcoming evil with good.
I praise You for redeeming every one of us who turns away from this world to You.
I praise You for the way you call to us
over and over and over again.
I praise You, for by Your mercy, not giving us the penalty for sin we deserve.
I praise You, for by Your grace, giving us freely
what we never could deserve.
I praise You for Jesus being Your Perfect Lamb
and sacrifice for our sin.
I praise You for raising Jesus victorious from the dead, defeating Satan and Sin and Death.
I praise for Your Promise of Eternal, Glorious Life
as Your forever redeemed child.

God: His Church

1Timothy 3:14-15 ESV

”I hope to come to you soon,
but I am writing these things
so that, if I delay,
you may know one ought to behave
in the household of God,
which is the church of the living God,
a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

 

My Father and my God, I praise You for making me through redemption a member of Your living Church.

I praise You for seeking out, calling and finding me.
I praise You for claiming me through redemption through Jesus’ blood sacrifice.
I praise You for uniting me through the Holy Spirit
in koininia Christian love
with my brother and sister believers.
I praise You for making us One even as You, the Spirit and the Son are One.
I praise You for the privilege of loving Your world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I praise You for the privilege
of being a member of the Body of Christ.
I praise You for the privilege of lifting praises to You
as hope in the midst of a desperate world.
I praise You for the privilege of being inspired
by Your saints who have gone before.
I praise You for the privilege of being taught by Jesus,
the Living Word, and the Bible, the Written Word, through Teachers gifted by You.
I praise You for that incredible Day when all of us,
Your Universal Church, gathered from every people, every language, every tribe, and every tongue;
will join together in praising You upon Your Throne.

God: His Throne

Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV

In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the LORD sitting on a throne,
high and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim; each had six wings:
with two he covered his face,
with two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew.
And one cried to another and said:
”Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

My God and my father I praise you for Your Promise that will allow me to see and worship You upon Your Throne.

I praise You for the Gift of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in me, confirmation, that I will see You
in glory upon Your throne.
I praise You for the sure hope of seeing the perfection of Your eternal throne’s final victory over sin and death.
I praise You for the indescribable joy my heart will experience when Your own
surround and praise You on Your throne.
I praise You for this promise fulfilled:

“ . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:10-11) ESV

I praise You for the eternal presence of all good
and for the external absence of all evil.
I praise You for eternal life
with no mourning nor crying nor pain.
I praise You for my eternally becoming
the child of God He created me to be.
I praise You for life eternal
learning more and more about His glory.
I praise You for the adventure of exploring New Heaven and New Earth forever and forever.
I praise God for eternally remaking me
as one among His perfect children.
I praise God for the privilege of seeing Jesus face-to-face.

That’s seventy praises. So, allow me add
these three more to make it seventy-three!

Oh, God, my Heavenly Father,
for the miracle of being created
and then redeemed and re-created
as Your beloved child,
I praise You.

Oh, God, my loving Savior,
for Your perfect, Your living  sacrifice
and your glorious resurrection
on Your child’s behalf,
I praise You.

Oh, God, the Holy Spirit,
for Your presence dwelling within me,
cleansing, correcting, keeping me
by Your holy Power,
I praise You.

Amen! Amen! And Amen!