“Then I will rejoice in the Lord ; I will delight in His deliverance. My very bones will say, “ Lord , who is like You, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him? ” I will praise You in the great congregation; I will exalt You among many people. And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praise all day long.”
Psalms 35:9-10, 18, 28
David, in Psalm 35, is asking God to act on his behalf and to fight for him. David often found himself in difficult, if not impossible situations. In such situstions, David often presented a “sacrifice of praise” or a “towdah”, a public act of worship with hands extended to God in praise, while expressing one’s utter dependance on God. In other words, praising God for His goodness when things didn’t seem good and knowing that though your situation looked impossible, God could save you! This kind of pubic proclaimation came with the expectation that when God did indeed save you, you’d stand in the same public place and tell the congregation what God did for you. Thus David prays, “then I will rejoice”, “then I will delight in Your deliverence” saying “Who is like You, Lord, rescuing the poor . . .”
David further promises God, ” I will praise You in the great congregation; I will exalt You among many people. And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praise all day long.” (Vs 28)
Often when we’re in trouble, we try to bargan with God-God if you get me out of this I won’t miss church for the next hundred years or whatever like that. Really, what we should do is offer praise ahead of time, when we don’t feel like it and when its truely a SACRIFICE for rescuing us even though we’ve not been rescued yet! Then, when God really does move on our behalf, we can tell those people who prayed with us in the beginning of God’s goodness, faithfulness and love!
Live your life, out loud to honor God.
Think about it!
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