S)"14 But as for me, I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of Your salvation all day long;
For I do not know the sum of them."
Psalm 71:14-15 (NASB)
O) There are two concepts at work here that I think are really powerful, especially in conjunction, in terms of making worship as good as possible. The first, from verse 14, is to make the commitment that God deserves more and more praise as time goes on. If He deserves praise for what He did 3000 years ago, then He certainly did more for His people in that next 1000 years, so He deserves more praise up to 2000 years ago. Pulling it forward, if He deserves praise for The Emancipation Proclamation, then He certainly deserves even more praise for the end of the Holocaust. So, the goodness of the LORD is progressive and cumulative and because of that, He doesn't simply deserve our praises continually (progressive), but also more and more (cumulative). The second thing at work, from verse 15, is to acknowledge that the salvation of the LORD is not even always known. It reminds me of the old Amy Grant song, "Angels" where she describes escaping a car accident she didn't even know was threatening her, "Though I never see with human eyes, the hands that lead me home." We will never know what God knows; we will never have His full perspective. But, that only means there are even more reasons to thank and praise Him than we'll ever realize.
A) I have countless reasons to praise the LORD for what He has done for me, and for what He has been doing for me, but I probably don't even know the half of it. So, if I can think of even only 1 reason to praise God, then there are probably half a dozen hidden reasons to praise Him. If I can thank Him for even only 1 thing, then there are probably dozens of reasons to thank Him that I can't even see. But that would be the minimum. The truth is, with each passing day, He deserves more and more of my worship and praise and thanks - even if I can't see what He did each day to bless, protect, and provide for me. So I will make my praise continual and increasing.
P) Father, Your goodness to me, the grace and mercies You've given me, it's so far beyond me that I cannot fully grasp it. Even for the parts I do understand, that I can comprehend, You deserve my eternal thanks and You are worthy of all of my praise and all of my devotion. Holy Spirit, when I have trouble focusing in worship, or when I'm feeling downcast or distracted by the world around me, reveal to me new things, hidden ways that I have been saved. Show me some of the blessings I never realized and let that inspire in me new worship and new praise. But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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