What is Praise?

WHAT IS PRAISE? by Mark Osgatharp

“The voice of the Lord makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” Psalm 29:9

Praise is speaking about the fact that God is the one who makes baby deer to be born at His command. If it is glory that God makes the “hinds to calve”, how much more when He makes a human baby to be born! Believe the ramifications of this one little verse of this one little Psalm and you will be overwhelmed by the presence and power of God Almighty! You will cry out with the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3

It has been my observation that many Christian people think that the creation is running on auto pilot. As if God formed the creation, put it in place and that it operates on perpetual motion. From a scientific perspective this is an absurd position. In the material world there is no such thing as perpetual energy. Crackpot inventors have tried for years to come up with a perpetual motion machine. They never have and never will because every form of energy will eventually deplete itself. Which is precisely why evolutionists claim the universe will eventually run out.

The consistent, clear and copious Biblical doctrine is that God is in constant and perpetual supervision and empowerment of the physical world. Even when animals, evil mean and evil angels are doing bad things, God is still so directing them as to accomplish His will.

This doctrine, though thoroughly Biblical, is repugnant to man because it forces us to deal with God as He is. It forces us to deal with the fact that God is responsible for injecting abject misery into our lives as well as the good things we enjoy.

It is easy to say “praise God” when He sends a soft rain on our thirsty garden. But it is difficult to actually praise God and verbally acknowledge He is the one who made our child sick unto death.

Think deeply on the ramifications of this truth.

[Cf. Job 1:21 and Job 2:10.]