Psalms 147:7-11 (ESV)
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Praise God for His Power, Not Ours!!
One of the most familiar scenes for a sport fan is the athlete who does something spectacular and then stands off on their own, beating their chest (or dancing in the end-zone). As if the action they did was not highlight enough, their exuberance to bring attention to themselves is over the top. This happens in many places besides professional sports, however. From joe-citizen bowling leagues to the halls of Congress, self-celebration is a national pastime. We love to praise ourselves and each other. When a small child does anything of consequence, we celebrate their achievement with excitement and enjoyment. The child learns they did something good and attempts to repeat that moment. The child has learned from our response that behavior solicits praise to self. They tend to repeat the behavior ... forever.
The above passage does not condemn praising children for doing good. It doesn’t even speak to the million dollar athlete that accomplished something they practice day after day. What the above text teaches us is that the ultimate exhilaration, exuberance and excitement is reserved for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Psalm 147 is about praising God. At the outset of the song we are told specifically to praise Him:
Psalms 147:1 (ESV)
1 Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
In the above section we see why we are to praise Him. He is the provision for the earth. The earth is upheld by the Word of Christ’s power:
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
3 ... and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
God does not delight in the things that we think are powerful. The author mentions horses because in their day that was the most powerful beast they could control and utilize for war. His point is that God does not delight in our strength. He does not look for the strong. Note:
1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (ESV)
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
Rejoice in the weakness we bring to the table of God. He and He alone turns our weakness into His praise through His power.
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