PRAISE FOR GOD

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men" (Psalm 107:8 NKJV).

One of the ways to respond to God’s unfailing love is by thanking Him. Four times in this Psalm (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31), the Psalmist repeats the call to praise God. Thus, we want to note: the exhortation to praise, the encouragement for praise, and the effect of praise.

Exhortation to praise – “Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord.” Folks today are so busy praising themselves that they often do not praise God. Not only that, but in our land it is against the law to praise God in certain places. Anything that would honor God is out; the courts have decreed this for our schools and government places. What a black mark this is upon our land which has been so blessed by God. So we certainly need this exhortation to praise God. Our failure to give God due honor will result in judgment upon our land.

Encouragement for praise - “His goodness, and . . . His wonderful works.” There are plenty of reasons for praising God. Our verse speaks of His “goodness” and His “wonderful works.” “Goodness” speaks of God’s great character: His love and mercy and holiness. Yet men fail to honor God Who is impeccable in character. “Wonderful works” refers to the miracles and mighty wonders God has done. Yes, there is much to encourage us to praise God. We honor so many things that lack honor; but that which deserves honor more than anything else, we fail to honor.

Effect of praise – “To the children of men.” Praising God can have a very beneficial effect upon mankind, therefore it should be done publicly. While the phrase “children of men” can refer to mankind in general, it does remind us of the importance of children hearing praise for God. Today, children hear mostly profanity. If they heard more praise, it would be of immeasurable help to the improvement of their character.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“A heart of praise and love shows others just what Jesus can do in the lives of men!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Divide

In Luke 12:13 we read, “Then one from the crowd said to Him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” (NKJV).

Divide is the word merizō (μερίζω = mer-id'-zo). It means to divide, separate, share, distribute, apportion. In Classical Greek, the primary meaning of merizō is to divide. A secondary meaning of merizō is to share something with someone, such as the distribution of the tithe of produce to the priests or the distribution of parental property to the children.

In the Septuagint merizō describes God’s command to divide Canaan among the 12 tribes (Josh. 13:7-27; 14:5). It is also used to describe the distribution of the spoils of battle, and how God provided “portions” for the priests and Levites who land inheritance. As in the Septuagint, the New Testament uses merizō to describe the spiritual problem of carnal hearts divided by devotion to God and to the world. This man had his focus on getting what he wanted in this world. The Lord shows him that his true need was to be ready for the next world. He showed him how to be rich, namely, how to be rich toward God.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would own the title, God or Elohim (Psalm 45:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Heb. 1:8

Did You Know…

In Ezekiel 9:4, God marked all of the believers in Jerusalem with a Tau, the last letter of the old Hebrew Alphabet. They were marked on their foreheads as an act of Divine mercy. The marking of people will also be a feature of the end times (Rev. 7:3; 9:4; 13:16-17; 20:4). Believers today are ‘marked’ by the Spirit of God (Eph. 1:13-14) and should be ‘marked’ by holy lives that glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of Romans, how does faith come?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Which chapter of what Book in the Bible is commonly known as the Love Chapter? 1 Cor. 13:1-13.

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Cover with a fig leaf”

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (Gen. 3:7 NKJV).

“Cover with a fig leaf” - The expression “cover with a fig leaf” means to be chaste; to conceal the flesh. When Adam and Eve sinned, they immediately became naked. They lost the covering of God’s glory and righteousness. Consequently, they tried to do what we do when we sin: they tried to cover and hide their sin. However, it is important to note in v. 21 that it is God Himself who makes the clothing for Adam and Eve, and that He Himself actually clothes them. Only Christ and Christ alone who can take care of sin.

Did You Know – Christian History

Jacob Daniel DeShazer was born November 15, 1912 in West Stayton, Oregon. He participated in the Doolittle Raid as a staff sergeant and later became a missionary in Japan.

DeShazer grew up in a Christian home but didn’t think the Bible was for him. He graduated from Madras High School in Madras, Oregon in 1931. In 1940, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, and rose to the rank of sergeant in 1941. DeShazer was one of the Doolittle Raiders in World War II who bombed Japan. When he parachuted from his plane over occupied China, the Japanese captured him. For forty months he was held in captivity, often tortured and left in solitary confinement.

Not surprisingly, DeShazer was full of hatred. Most of the guards were cruel, but there were rare exceptions. In May 1944, while in solitary confinement, DeShazer was given a Bible by a guard. He was allowed to keep it three weeks, and he read it constantly. Now the Bible was working on him! On June 8, 1944, he trusted Christ.

Before his release on August 20, 1945, he felt an overwhelming love and sympathy for the Japanese people and a great desire to tell them of Christ. After the war, DeShazer was one of the thousand Christian missionaries who volunteered to go Japan to teach them about the true God.

DeShazer was much in demand as a public speaker. People wanted to hear of his POW experience and his conversion. On December 8, 1948, DeShazer boarded the USS General Meigs to deliver Bibles. More amazing than DeShazer’s conversion is that of Mitsuo Fuchida who was saved after reading a tract of the DeShazer story. Fuchida had led the 353 plane attack on Pearl Harbor. He and Jacob became dear friends and traveled together preaching the gospel.

DeShazer’s testimony had been printed in Japanese and over a million leaflets distributed throughout the islands. Over the years, many turned to Christ through seeing how the love of Jesus could make a man love even those who had tortured him.

A Little Humor

The pastor of St. Paul’s church was ill one Sunday morning, so a substitute preacher was brought in. In his opening remarks the preacher said, “You know, a substitute preacher is like a piece of cardboard in a broken window. He fills the space, but after all, he’s not the real glass. After the service, a lady approached the preacher trying to pay him a compliment. “You weren’t a replacement after all. You were a real pane.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“A changed life is the result of a changed heart!”