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| with thanks to https://pixabay.com/en/once-upon-a-time-writer-author-719174/ |
In Psalm 105 verses 1 and 2, the phrase "sing praise" is sandwiched in between "make known … what he has done" and "tell of … his wonderful acts" ... as if it's just part of a list of different ways of saying the same thing:
Give
praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has
done. Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts!
The first couple of verses of the next Psalm imply that praise gives rise to thanks, as a consequence:
Praise
the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for
he is good; his love endures for ever.
Psalms 77-78 praise God and then explain that, in the praising, they are passing on the knowledge of, and faith in, God (Ps 77:13-20):
Your ways, God, are holy.
What
god is as great as our God?
You are the
God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and
forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
... in
order that (Ps 78:6-8):
...the next generation would know them, even the children yet to
be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and
would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their ancestors – a
stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose
spirits were not faithful to him
It seems that “praise” simply means ‘telling stories about’, and that for the purposes of creating thankful hearts and on-going legacies of knowing and trusting him.
So next time you're praising God to someone - telling them about some amazing thing God has done in your life - and they say "praise the Lord!" ... try to resist saying "I just did!"
