Praise His Name

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me, for You shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me. 

Psalm 142:7 

Why do we praise God’s Name? David was in a hard situation. He describes his reality throughout the psalm. He speaks of his persecutors, his peril, his isolation and his anxiety. He declares his faith in God in clear terms with particular petitions that call for intervention. Our text is the conclusion of the psalm. In it David calls upon God to deliver him out of prison. To that he adds, ‘that I may praise Your Name.’ Again, why praise the Name of God? Although we may praise God for what He does, it is more important to praise God for Who He is. His Name reflects His character. It is out of His character His works come forth. He does what He does because He is Who He is. We especially see this in Christ. He is Jesus, ‘God is salvation.’ When the angel appeared to Joseph, his message included the instruction: ‘You shall call his name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Jesus is also, Christ, the Anointed One. He is the promised Messiah of the ancient prophecies, the fulfillment of the promise of God. When we praise the Name of God, we are magnifying the character of God. By doing so we are demonstrating our love for Who He is, not merely what He has done for us. We love the Host, not merely His table. David desired God’s intervention, but was keen to praise the Lord Who liberated Him. We praise the same God and the same Christ.  

Our Glorious Living God, 
we rejoice in Who You are. 
We praise You that You are utterly dependable, 
for all our circumstances. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning