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       III. Let All Creation Rejoice

      There is no acceptable excuse that a child of God can make for why he or she should not be praising and rejoicing in God for His many blessings. The psalmist said in verse 11, “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.” There should always be great joy and rejoicing from the people of God toward the Lord for all the good and great things that the blessings are always doing, every day in the lives of His children, who love and serve Him faithfully upon this earth. God deserves the praise, honor, glory and rejoicing of His people so that the entire world will know just how good God always is to them. The Israelites had great joy because of the God who cared for them, and today’s Christians can experience the same joy. There is just no reason that the people of God in these modern times cannot always be in new songs, praising and rejoicing before God for all His goodness to them. To praise Him in this way is to trust Him. To trust Him is to share the Good News about Him.

      Praise and trust in God are the twin sides of the same coin. One cannot praise Him appropriately without coming to a loving trust in who He is, and one cannot trust Him without simultaneously confessing His goodness in joyful praise to others. The psalmist recommends this type of praise in his recommendation to others to sing unto the Lord a new song. This imperative to sing a new song carries with it a note of continuous praise. We must praise God today for blessings we presently witness and experience. However, we must also be sure to praise God tomorrow for sustaining and redeeming us from dire circumstances and upcoming dangers that escape our foresight or anticipation.

      Praising God in this way makes us bold advocates of His love. There is no better way to demonstrate to others God’s great love, than to reveal our joy in serving Him. This joy is not the eruption of praise when things are going well with us, but it is also a testimony of faith and assurance that despite the presence of obstacles in our lives that God will more than keep us from falling (Jude 24:24–25).

       Key Concepts to Enhance Your Understanding

      1. Praising God must be a natural response to His blessings.

      2. Praising God must extend from a heart of humility and gratitude.

      3. Praising God must invoke our trust in Him and create a determination to witness to His goodness.

       Dictionary of Terms

      •Rejoice—to exclaim joy and praise to God for His blessings.

       ACTIVITY

      Making It Stick

      Compare and contrast the praise of the Israelites with contemporary examples of praise to God.