Thursday, December 14

PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM!

Fanny Crosby, the author of this hymn, did not let her circumstances hinder her attitude.  She was blind, but she was thankful for it and praised God for the communion with Him that she was able to have.  What a lesson we can learn from this humble woman whose life was spent praising her Savior.  For the Lord takes pleasure in His people: He will beautify the humble with salvation.  Psalm 149:4 Praise Him! Praise Him! resounds with her thankfulness and her desire to tell the world about Jesus.

Each of the three verses in this hymn tells of a different time in the life of Jesus.  The first verse speaks of his birth and years of ministry.  The angels in Heaven gave the glory to God in the highest when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  At that time, the whole earth proclaimed the coming of the Messiah.  It is now our job to proclaim the good news of Jesus our Savior.  Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children; in His arms He carries them all day long.  During His ministry, He led and cared for His flock by preaching to the disciples and those who gathered around Him.  Today, those who are obedient to His calling are His children, and He will lead those who have a humble heart.  It is a glorious place to be led by Jesus.  The second verse is about His death and resurrection—For our sins He suffered and bled and died.  He died on the cross so that we can be saved from a life of sin.  But it doesn’t stop there; we must hail Him and sound His praises, for He rose again and lives today.  The third verse speaks of His reign and soon return.  Our Savior reigns forever and ever, and He’s coming back soon to fulfill His Word.  He will be crowned King and will rule over the world victorious.  Behold, I am coming quickly!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.  Revelation 22:7

God demands our praise.  From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised.  Psalm 113:3 Praise Him just because He is God and He loves you.  God has ordained each circumstance in your life, so remember to thank Him even if it wasn’t what you thought should happen.  He sees praise as the best sacrifice, as it says in Hebrews 13:15, Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.  He says that if we don’t praise Him, the stones will cry out…Luke 19:40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” So don’t let the stones get all the blessing, get up and praise Him!

Sing, O earth, His wonderful love proclaim!

~ Kimberly Frantz