Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 89:15-18

15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn.
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.


Today’s title is “Praises that Bring Blessings”

God created man to proclaim His praise. Isaiah 43:21 shows God’s original intent clearly. It says “the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” We are created to praise God and His glory. It is one of the grand purposes of God for man. That’s probably why people everywhere make and play songs beautifully without any musical training. Even new-born babies seem to respond quickly to songs than words. We enjoy making and playing songs to express and share a variety of human feelings and emotions with the innate musical abilities. But considering the original intent of God, the most appropriate use of such musical gifts is to praise God and His glory. God loves our praises. He gets glory and honor from such praises. At the same time, praising God brings back abundant blessings to us. Today’s psalm shows such blessings upon those who praise God. Verse 14 says, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you”. So we will be blessed when we praise God. But it is important to mark well that our praise must be flowing from the genuine faith and trust in the Lord. Praises that truly exalts God cannot be separated from faithful practices of godly life. The blessed souls who acclaim God are those who walk in the light of God’s presence. The light of God’s presence in turn makes them rejoice in God all day long. God fills their life with glory and strength. God shields them from the enemies. He exalts their horns. The blessed celebrate God’s righteousness and grace ceaselessly. This is the blessed cycle of praise and blessings. How earnestly are you praising God? How fervently are you celebrating His righteousness? As your genuine and fervent praise mounts for God, so will His blessings upon you. Amen!