Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
In this psalm David praises God enumerating several specific reasons as to why. The Lord is worthy of exaltation because He has worked mighty deeds of creation, salvation, and deliverance. He is worthy of praise because of His attributes: goodness, righteousness, compassion, grace, patience, glory, power, and might. David even praises God for the everlasting kingdom over which the Lord rules. The Lord is to be exalted because He cares for the poor and needy and acts to provide justice for the oppressed. He is praiseworthy for He absolutely trustworthy. Unlike human beings, He never fails to keep His promises.
King David has provided a great catalogue of reasons to praise the Lord. But he not only itemizes such reasons, he promises the Lord that he will teach others to always praise God by telling them of what He has done and who He is. Parents are to take note of these words of praise for it is their responsibility to teach their children about the Lord so that they may learn to worship and obey Him. The same is also the responsibility of the church, a responsibility many churches have abandoned. No matter how great our singing and music may sound, they are empty if they do not humble us to realize the greatness and mercy of the Lord. In addition, our words and songs should inspire us to trust God, to place ourselves in His hands, to humbly commit our ways to Him, obey what He has commanded. We must love our fellow human beings as Christ loves us, and turn our backs on the idols of money, self, fame, culture, pleasure and prosperity.