Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
In the Hebrew language Psalm 111 is an acrostic poem. Starting with the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, aleph, each half line begins with the next letter and continues in order for all of its 22 letters. It’s an obvious hymn of praise to the Lord that probably took a considerable amount of time to compose.
These days many Christians spend very little time praising the Lord. In the Churches I’ve attended I always see people coming in late, as if the praise and worship time is a kind of grace period that doesn’t really count. If they don’t praise Him on Sunday when it’s a scheduled event, I wonder how much private time they devote to it during the week.
Most parents have felt a bit of frustration now and then at the way our kids take the lifestyle we provide them with for granted. I wonder how the Lord feels about our indifference toward the things He provides for us. I’m sure He understands that we have no way of knowing the effort that’s required to fend off spiritual attacks against us. Most of that takes place beyond our awareness. But what about the things He does for us that are obvious? Little things that make our lives easier, and even big things that are great blessings are often passed off as luck, or circumstance, or even ignored altogether.
Some of this is human nature and some of it is due to the fact that all our lives we’ve been taught to credit anything and anyone but God. I challenge you break this trend. Start giving thanks for every good thing that occurs each day, no matter how small, even if it feels a little silly to do it. I promise that three good things will happen. One, you’ll be surprised at how many there are once you start looking for them. Two, you’ll begin to experience the joy of the Lord more consistently in your life. And three, others will offer positive comments on the change in you.