Glorifying God Through Praise
December 31, 2012.

"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God" (Psalm 50:23).

The great summarizing commandment of the apostle Paul was, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). That is, every aspect of our lives should be so ordered as to glorify God in whatever we say and do.

This is a difficult rule to follow, for how do we determine whether such and such an action glorifies God or not? Nevertheless, there is one thing we can do which we can be absolutely certain does glorify Him--that is, offering to Him our praise and our thanks. We should offer praise for His person and work in general, thanks for what He is and does for us in particular. "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me!"

This is His assurance and our incentive to praise Him in all things. "In every thing give thanks," says the apostle, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ).

On this last day of the year, especially, praise and thanks should pour from our hearts and lips, if we would "ordereth our conversation aright." "Bless the LORD, O my soul," says the psalmist, "and forget not all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2). Most of us all too commonly tend to forget all His benefits and fret over our troubles and burdens.

If we desire to glorify God, on the other hand, we should recount all our blessings and leave our burdens with Him. In the words of the old hymn: "Count your many blessings, see what God hath done!" Then will "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) fill our hearts and minds, enabling the indwelling Holy Spirit to "shew the salvation of God" not only to us, but in us and through us to others. HMM

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