Day Five
Psalm 145:1-9
I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
Reflection
Praise God! God is good! We are called, like the psalmist, to daily exult the Lord, to magnify his name, to remember his wonderful deeds, the thank him for his abundant blessings, to pass on to future generations the wonders of his name. Sometimes as Christians we can become negative: we focus on all the problems in the world and in our lives and end up being robbed of our joy. The Lord wants us to praise him at all times!
When we take the focus off ourselves and our problems and praise God instead, something wonderful happens in our hearts: we become God-centred, not self-centred. We focus on pleasing God, not ourselves. We grow in gratitude for what we have, not focusing on what we don't have. Notice that the psalmist says he will meditate on God's wondrous works. We should do this too, not only by reading the Bible, but also by reading the book of Creation: the wonder of the universe, the earth, the sky, the ocean, the animals, the beauty of forests and lakes, and so on. All these created things bring glory to God and testify to his providence.
Prayer
God of goodness, I praise you today for all your wonders, especially for the gift of salvation through Jesus your Son and making me a member of your family through faith and baptism. Help me this day to reflect on your wonders and share with others the glory of your name.
Amen.
