Phases of praise
‘Give thanks to the LORD! Call for him to help you!
Tell all the nations what he has done!
Tell them how great he is!
Sing to the LORD because of the great things he has done.
Let the whole world hear the news.’ (verses 4,5)
Read Isaiah 12:2-6
Sprinkled all through the Scriptures are outbursts of praise to God. Isaiah’s words here are typical. There are often three phases to these praises.
Phase 1: Praise usually starts when God does something good for people. In this case, Isaiah has just finished describing God’s consistent inclination to avert his anger (richly deserved) from his people and to comfort them instead.
Phase 2: The next step is the joy and relief felt by the people to whom God has shown such generosity. Their hearts bubble over with happiness, and thanks to God pours out of their mouths.
Phase 3: The subsequent reaction of those who have experienced God’s goodness, after thanking him, is to tell other people about it. They want other people to benefit from God’s greatness and goodness too.
These phases of praise are not confined to the Bible. God’s goodness, especially his forgiveness, is mine too. I too am most grateful for his love. And I also have the opportunity to tell others about it.
Thank you, Lord, for forgiveness freely given to me. Use me to spread to others the story of the great things you do. Amen.
By Richard Hauser, in “God’s Peace for each day” (LCA, Openbook Publishers (2005)
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