Praise and Thanksgiving

1 I will exalt you, Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.

4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 Lord, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

8 To you, Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.”

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

One of the most important things we can ever say to God is “thank you.” It's a habit that should never get old. When we give thanks to God, we are usually responding to specific gifts or blessings God has been pleased to give us. Praise, though, is different. When we praise God, we are not so much thanking him for what he has done. We are honoring and adoring God for who he is. If you read Psalm 30 closely, you discover that like many of the psalms, it is characterized by both praise and thanksgiving. Most of the psalm consists of David's expressions of thanks to God. David thanks God for hearing his voice when he called out to him, and for lifting him up when he was down. But nestled in the middle of the psalm, in verses 4-5, is a call to praise. Like all expressions of praise, it is rooted not only in God's actions but also in God's character. It's important that we remember the difference between praise and thanksgiving. We ought to work hard at practicing the vertical habit of saying “thank you” to God in response to all his gifts. But we should also remember to praise God simply for who he is. Perhaps in this way we can become what Augustine said every Christian should be: “an alleluia from head to foot.”

Lord, we thank you for all your gifts, and we praise you for all your glory. Thank you for hearing us when we call to you. Help us to give you glory in everything we do. Amen.