A pastor sold his horse to a buyer with these instructions: I have trained the horse to respond to spiritual commands. It will only go if you say "Praise the Lord," and only stop if you say, "Amen." The man bought the horse giving little attention to these directions. Then one day he decided to ride the horse. "Giddyup," he said, to no avail. Remembering, with a bit of exasperation he said, "Praise the Lord." The horse took off like a bolt of lightning heading straight for a big ravine. "Whoa!" he shouted to his new horse. The horse headed straight toward the cliff. Finally he remembered, in the nick of time and said, "Amen." The horse slid to a halt right on the brink of the precipice. In gratitude the rider said, "Praise the Lord!"
For the dedication of the temple, David wrote this song to God thanking him for lifting him out of the depths. In God David found healing and deliverance from death. This made him want to sing praise to the Lord. He invited the faithful people of God to join him in singing praise to God. Praising the Lord is not a small subset of songs which is relegated to the "new music." "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name," and "My Eternal King," are great anthems of praise. Who can forget Handel's Hallelujah Chorus which resounds with the Hebrew word Hallelujah, meaning, "Praise the Lord."
Why should we praise the Lord? His anger lasts only a moment. Someone will surely wonder, "God gets angry," while another will say, "God is always angry." David helps us to see that God's anger is temporary but his favor lasts a lifetime. Just so our own sin, like David's makes us weep for a night. But with our God there is forgiveness and fullness of joy. Joy comes in the morning, as surely as the sun rises each new day. Praise is a good word. Our God is a good God. Praise the Lord. Amen.
