While we have breath, praise him.

King David, wiping sleep from weary eyes, stoked the gentle morning fire, causing a few sparks to float toward the throne room of God, he thought, smiling.

He put his old blanket on the ground, knelt on scarred knees, stretched his arms as far as the east is from the west in his kingdom, and cleared his mind.

He cleared his throat and spoke the first words of the morning. "Praise the Lord!" he said. He breathed in deeply, blew out in strength. "I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.

"How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them."

And he did as the morning sun crept steadily higher.

And he taught us.

Have you ever pondered the difference between thanking God and praising God? For just a moment, let's do so.

I would say that the difference in the two is often the difference in noticing circumstances. In other words, we often thank God for what He's done, what He's doing, even what He will do. We thank Him for what we have, and what He has kept away from us. It's wonderful to be thankful.

But praising Him can be even more wonderful because one can and needs to praise Him for simply being who He is, not for what He's doing.

In other words, we love our spouse for who he or she is not for what he or she does. We love our kids and grand kids simply because they are breathing.

God is God...perfect, righteous, trust-worthy, loving, gracious, merciful. I praise Him for being those things when I most assuredly are not.

I thank Him for being just and good, and for giving me commandments that are trustworthy. I thank him for the above-mentioned spouse and kids and grand kids and even the challenges and tests that seem to appear constantly in front of a tired path I trod.

What a holy, awe-inspiring name God has, God is, God was and God will forever be.

This morning as the August sun trembles our very paved streets, let me pause and give thanks to a God who has much better things to do, I suspect, than peer in on my piddling little pity party that I create so effortlessly.

And let us, as Rich Mullins suggested,

Sing your praise to the Lord,
Come on everybody,
Stand up and sing...one more
Hallelujah,
Give your praise to the Lord,
I can never tell you,
Just how much good...that it's
Gonna do ya

Just to sing...anew...
The song your heart first learned to sing when He
First gave His life...to you...
The life goes on and so must the song,
You gotta sing...again...
The song born in your soul when you
First gave your heart...to Him...
Sing His praises, once more

John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic.

 

One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley's heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished conditions that he didn't even have a bed. Yet he was an unusually happy person , filled with gratitude to God.

 

Wesley, being immature, thoughtlessly joked about the man's misfortunes. "And what else do you thank God for?" he said with a touch of sarcasm. The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, "I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all a constant desire to serve Him!"

 

Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness. Many years later, in 1791, John Wesley lay on his deathbed at the age of 88.

 

Those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in every circumstance. Despite Wesley's extreme weakness, he began singing the hymn, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath."

Amen. Amen. Amen.