Here are even more ways for us to respond to God’s greatness and goodness.
·
One generation shall praise Your works to
another (v4). This is the same English
word, but yet another Hebrew term. shavach
7422. Definition: to soothe, stroke; to
pronounce happy. It is something like a
holy “pat on the back.” The first use
was near the end of David’s song of thanksgiving when he brought the Ark of the
Covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 16:35).
It is a great passage: Save us, O God of our salvation; gather us together
and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph
in Your praise. It is all
that makes God so praiseworthy that is the source of our triumphs. Thus, what are we to do when God delivers us
and makes us victorious? We give Him a
mighty pat on the back. Another use of
this term is in Ps. 63:3: Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise you. One
additional thought: this kind of praise has the ability to “still” the
stirrings of others who might seek to take God’s praise to themselves. Do we not often pray that the Lord will work
in a manner so as to make it clear that He is the only One deserving of praise?
·
In v6-7 there is a collection of terms having to
do with talking.
o
In v6 “speak” is the basic Hebrew term for
talking; it’s used over 5000 times in the OT.
So, we might say, our response should be part of normal conversation.
o
In v6 “declare” is to recount, as in telling a
story. We don’t ever need to embellish
testimonies of God’s work; His works speak for themselves in that regard. But we should tell the stories for others to
hear.
o
In v7 “utter” is to gush forth or bubble
up. There ought to be some enthusiasm
when we speak of God’s goodness. And
note: it’s the “memory” of God’s goodness; it’s okay to tell our children and
grandchildren of times we remember His goodness.
o In
v7 “sing” means to ring or cry out with joy.
So, yes, it can mean to put our praises to music. That’s a great idea! But maybe it suggests a cheer of sorts. Why shouldn’t we, who get loud for someone
who can hit a home run, cry out for our Creator and Savior?
We just want to encourage each other in this,
that we use every means to praise and bless the Lord our God. There is still a little more of this holy
variety from Psalm 145. For now, let us speak
well of Him in word and deed. Let us
make it normal in our relationships. Let
us not be known for our grumblings or fears or worries. Let us be known for our praise of our God!
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