"The Psalmist's Heart"

Psalm 111:1-10

Praise the Lord!

 

I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,

In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

The works of the Lord are great,

Studied by all who have pleasure in them.

His work is honorable and glorious,

And His righteousness endures forever.

He has made His works to be remembered;

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.

He has given food to those who fear Him;

He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

He has declared to His people the power of His works,

In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are verity and justice;

All His precepts are sure.

They stand fast forever and ever,

And are done in truth and uprightness.

He has sent redemption to His people;

He has commanded His covenant forever;

Holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all who do His commandments.

His praise endures forever.

As I was reading and asking God what I should write to share with you today I ran across this Psalm and as I read I was struck by the Psalmist's heart for God and it made me wonder about how often we as His people take the time to 'write' Him a Psalm from our hearts today. If you look at this one it begins with praise. It then moves from a place of praise into a place of declaring who God is and what He does and has done for His people. It talks about who and what He is as well as declaring what He can be counted on to be and to do for His people in the future.

I wonder if our conversations, our prayers, our time with Him even come close to expressing who He is? Do we take the time every day to express our love for Him not only because of what He has done for us in the past or the present but also for the blessings yet to come? How well do we understand our need to love Him and how often or maybe even how well do we express our love for Him? Do we do it enough or do we have an attitude that takes 'His knowing' for granted. After all, He is God so He knows we love Him, right?

I'm thinking, that we might, just maybe, sometimes have a little of Peter's attitude. Think about it. When Jesus asked him this question, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?"  for the third time, how did Peter answer?  "...and he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." John 21:17 

I think that maybe we, the redeemed of the Lord, could, or maybe even should, express our love and appreciation for who He is, a little more often! We need to be saying, "I love You!" both to Him and about Him. 

Oh give thanks to the Lord. for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Psalm 107:1-2