FWD: Morning Manna (Nov. 23); BP: Ps. 113; RBTTY: James 5; Ez. 20-21

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:15:44 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Nov. 23); BP: Ps. 113; RBTTY: James 5; Ez. 20-21
 

November 23                                                                                                                                                                                                              “Wherever I Am”

 

“Blessed be the Name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.  From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s Name is to be praised.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Psalm 113:2-3

     It matters not who we are, where we are or what we’re going through; we’re still to do it.

     Praise.

     We all know what this is:  The adulation, adoration or exaltation of someone or something.  It connotes great respect or even reverence and so often springs from a virtual worship or idolization of the object/person being praised.

 

     Yet, the question that ought to be asked is this:

     “Is the recipient of my praise ‘praiseworthy’?”

     And, even more, am I sinning by heaping such accolades—verbal or tangible—upon the thing/one who’s receiving it?

 

     Today’s Manna reminds us there’s really only One Who’s truly worthy of all praise:  The Lord God. . .Maker of Heaven and earth. . .and all that is within them.  And this praise should not be selective or short-lived; instead, it should be all the time (“from this time forth and forevermore”) and in all places (“from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same”).  Hallelujah!!

 

     The Hebrew word “barak” is used here for “blessed” and basically means “to kneel before, salute, give thanks to, etc.”  Truly, it’s a “word of worship” and such should be reserved only for the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Likewise, “halal” is used for “praised” and also means “to be clear, shine, make a show of, boast, celebrate, commend, etc.”   From this root we get “hallelujah,” which means “Praise the Lord.”   Thus, the joining of the two words—“blessed” and “praised”—is really an act of worship and calls others to join us in it.

 

     We should note that the One being praised here is capitalized (LORD), which lets us know it is the “Great I Am” Name of God (YAHWEH) revealed to Moses in the wilderness that day (Ex. 3:14).  Later German translations of the word from the Hebrew text were written as “Jehovah,” but the meaning is still the same:

 

     “Worship Me and Me alone.”

     And, in the context of today’s Manna it is a call to bless and praise Him continually, regardless of where we are.

     We know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; yet, there is no east pole or west pole.  Likewise, if we set out on a journey traveling east, we’ll eventually return to our original location from the west.

 

     Therefore, wherever we are when the sun peeks its head over the horizon. . . regardless of what we’re going through. . .we should still say “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.  Don’t we serve a great God?  Isn’t He worthy of all praise.”  And, when the sun sets each day we should look at it or someone nearby and say, “Hasn’t this been a wonderful day?  How thankful I am for the God of Grace, Who loves me and has made me His own.”  Amen and amen.