Psalm 108 — Say “Thank God”, and mean it — Reading the Psalms

A Song, a Psalm Of David.

1 My heart is fixed, O God;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises, even with my glory.
2 Awake, psaltery and harp:
I myself will awake right early.
3 I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the peoples:
And I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
4 For thy mercy is great above the heavens,
And thy truth reacheth unto the skies.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
And thy glory above all the earth.
6 That thy beloved may be delivered,
Save with thy right hand, and answer us.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will exult:
I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the defence of mine head;
Judah is my sceptre.
9 Moab is my washpot;
Upon Edom will I cast my shoe:
Over Philistia will I shout.
10 Who will bring me into the fenced city?
Who hath led me unto Edom?
11 Hast not thou cast us off, O God?
And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.
12 Give us help against the adversary:
For vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly:
For he it is that shall tread down our adversaries.

It is time for us to rejoice and praise God. Let us fix our hearts, like David, to thank God among the people around us. Let us say “Thank God,” and mean it as a reverential statement of his gifts, and not a vulgar reaction to life events. Let us say “Praise God,” in the hearing of people, when we see good things happen.

This is the light of praise we should share with the world. We need not David’s harp, but heart. We need not compose great works of poetry, but simply to let our hearts move our lips with praise. The world needs to know God’s goodness and greatness; let it be by the words of our praise.

God will indeed have all the nations. The nations will indeed learn the power of God in the end. Why leave your friends and neighbors in the dark? Why not add these simple words of praise to your daily repertoire of phrases and ideas? “Praise God! Thank God!” Let our work be by God’s will and our words be by God’s heart.