"Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness."
Psalm 150:2
“Praise him for his mighty acts:”
All praise belongs to the LORD, our great God. The Hebrew word translated “praise” here means literally “to shine,…to praise, boast, be boastful.”1 In praising the LORD, we are “to shine” His deeds back on to Him, to boast in His work, to praise Him for all that He has done, to glorify Him so that others may know and appreciate Him too. Our bragging is not about us, but about our God.
“His mighty deeds” might be rendered “His heroic [or, valiant] acts.”2 His acts alone are appropriate reasons to praise Him. These acts are all the things that God has done that point to His omnipotence. Whether it be His creation, His sovereign government, His salvation, mercy, and grace, or His justice with people, these all point our praise to Him!
Let’s not only praise Him for what He has done but let’s teach younger believers to praise Him as well.
“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts,” (Psalm 145:4).
“Praise him according to his excellent greatness.”
Another reason to praise the LORD is that He is great! Clarke translates “His excellent greatness” – from the Hebrew phrase that means, “according to the multitude of his magnitude, or of his majesty.”3 Now that’s not exactly how we would say it in English, but the idea is obvious. Because of the diversity and extent of His excellent greatness’s we owe praise to Him.
Believers, how is your praise to the LORD coming? Are you faithfully praising Him? Don’t let the difficulties of this life stifle your praise. Keep praising Him especially in the hard times of life. Recount His “mighty acts” and praise Him for His work in your life. Where would you be without Him? Now is a good time to praise His name.
1. Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
2. Expositor’s Bible Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
3. Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.