The Object of My Praise

Read: Psalm 8

"O LORD, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth.

Psalm 8:1

Examine:

This Psalm is bookended by a powerful declaration of the majesty of God. It is a powerful Psalm of praise. David applied three things that made praising God natural to Him. In this passage David starts out by referring to God as LORD (all caps). This word is Yahweh and it is the personal name of God which he revealed to Moses. It means that he is the I AM, The One True God. David then personalizes God by referring to Him as Lord. This word means sovereign master. David looked at the world around him for the revealed evidence of God's greatness.

Apply:

Understanding God as Yahweh is so important. He is all powerful and all knowing. He was in the beginning and He will be in the end. He is everything I will ever need. His purpose for my life can always be trusted. The stress and strain of the world competes with God's claim as Yahweh in my life. It is so easy to become distracted and lose sight of the greatness of my God.

Knowing God as master and sovereign Lord is also vital to praising Him. God did not create all of creation and then retreat to Heaven to see how it went. He is active. He is alive and stirring about. He is my master. He is my provider. He is my Lord. I must choose daily to surrender the lordship of my life back to my God.

Truly understanding God as Yahweh and as Lord of my life frees me to look at the world around me and marvel. God's tangible presence is on display everywhere I look. The stars shout His name. The moon and the sun declare His glory. All of creation comes together and makes obvious the greatness of God. My life can get so busy that it can be quite easy to forget to slow down, look around, and marvel at all that God has done.

Pray:

Father,

I praise You today because You are Yahweh. You never change. You are everything I will ever need. No situation, no circumstance, and no power of man will ever overcome the greatness of Your name.

I praise You today because You are my Lord. My life is Yours. All that is in it belongs to You. You are my sovereign Master and You make my paths straight.

Distractions are not hard to find. Things happen and it seems like I can go from the top of the mountain to the bottom of a pit in a matter of seconds. I think this often happens because I take my eyes off of Your greatness and become consumed by my comfort and preferences. I ask that You help me keep my day in perspective. Allow nothing in my life to steal Your rightful place as the sole object of my praise.