Glorious Praise

June 14

(Psalm 66:1-9 NIV) ““Shout with joy to God, all the earth! {2} Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! {3} Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. {4} All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." {5} Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! {6} He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot-- come, let us rejoice in him. {7} He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations-- let not the rebellious rise up against him. {8} Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; {9} he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.””

(Exodus 14:19-22 NIV) “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, {20} coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. {21} Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, {22} and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”

How long has it been since you shouted with joy to the Lord? Unrestrained praise is a rare commodity, but it is just as biblical as many other standard practices of worship. Glorious praise should be the rule, not the exception. After all, we have a great and powerful God who does awesome things on our behalf. The Earth and the sea bow to His authority. He calms the storm and walks on the surface of the water. He parts the sea and His people walk through on dry land. He strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies, causing them to retreat. Only a fool would rebel against a God like this. He saves our life and guards our soul. He makes our footing sure. If we slip, it’s because we stepped off of His path. Nothing is hidden from His sight. He is our eternal King. This is why we worship Him in a way that can be seen and heard. This is why we offer up glorious praise. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day