Make His Praise Glorious!

"Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His Name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.' SELAH"

"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was praised with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!"
(Psalm 66:1-4,16-20)

Oh my goodness...Here is that "praise principle" again! Have you figured out yet that I think this is EXTREMELY important in the life of a Believer?

Please take just a minute and read the first paragraph again, but this time do it out loud - you know, like you mean it!! Because I know you do, even if your day has begun a little less than joyful. Remember? Even when we don't want to praise Him for our circumstances we can ALWAYS praise Him for Who He is!!

That is exactly what David is doing in this Psalm.

Now what is the 'take-away' in the second section?

David says in verse 18 & 19, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer."

David understands the importance of cleansing his heart before God. God is a Holy God. When we harbor sin in our heart we cannot enter into God's Presence for the mere fact that He IS Holy.

And, dear One, He yearns to be in fellowship with you. He longs to respond to the cries of His children. But sin WILL separate you from Him.

We categorize sin and make it this horrible monster that some Christians do not want to consider. God does not categorize sin - He doesn't differentiate between 'big sins' and 'little sins'. Again, sin is ANYTHING that opposes the will of God - anything that separates us from Him.

That's why He addresses the sinfulness of His children. Its not because sin makes us evil creatures. It is because sin separates us from our God Who loves us and desires to dwell among us.

David cleansed his heart before the Father, then lifted his heart in praise to the One Who heard his cry.

And the Presence of the Lord embraced him and gave him peace.

Praise You, Father! Bless Your Holy Name!! I am so thankful that You desire to walk with me and talk with me. I am so thankful for Your love. Cleanse my heart, Lord. If there be anything in me that displeases You, please reveal it to me that I might confess it to You and receive Your forgiveness. I want to be in close union with You. I will declare all that You have done for me and I will sing Your praise. I love you, Lord.