May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!
It would be great to read the above lines from the song in Psalm 144 and compare it to the lines in this song:
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
YET I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
In both of these songs there is one common denominator: Both praise God. One praises God FOR His bountiful goodness shown in tangible, pleasant blessings. The other praises God FOR His bountiful goodness despite tangible, pleasant blessings. They both praise God. One has a “praise God for” message and one has a “praise God yet” message. The key is that we are to bless and praise God for whatever He does for us. Whether he gives or withholds. We need to have the mindset of Job who had both of the above conditions. At one time he could “praise God for” and at one time he had to “praise God yet.” He still had to praise God. After he lost all his children, all his staff and all his property and possessions, his words to his wife (who was bitter for the loss) was:
Job 1:20-21 (ESV)
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Whether we praise God “for” His blessings or are in a situation where we have to praise God “yet” for the loss of tangible blessings, we are to still rejoice in Him!!
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