"Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"
Psalm 107:8
Today’s verse is interesting for several reasons. As we read through Psalm 107, we will observe that this same verse appears four times in this Psalm, verse 8, verse 15, verse 21, and verse 31. We, who believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Word of God, understand that God only need say something once for it to be significant for us to accept and obey. So, when we come to a topic or a verse that God repeats, we had better pay attention and understand what it means so that we can obey its instructions.1
“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,”
Why are men obliged to “praise the LORD?” It is because of His “goodness” that He has lavishly given to mankind. His “goodness” in this verse is the Hebrew noun that means, “His loving-kindness, His grace.” This term “goodness” is used six times in this psalm just to signify how gracious the LORD is to the children of Adam. Every “earthling” should be praising the LORD, for He has been so gracious to each one of them.
We believers as God’s children, ought to be leading the way in God’s praise, yet how often do we find ourselves in no frame of mind to praise God because of the sinful way we live our lives. When the things of this world take God’s place in our hearts, we certainly don’t think about praising Him. How quickly our hearts grow cold and change from glorifying God to ignoring our Lord! It makes me wonder why He ever puts up with our hard-heartedness, and lack of thanks to Him. Oh, that’s right. He is gracious to us. Another reason we must be praising the LORD! It is indeed our privilege to praise and glorify Him.
“And for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
It’s not just for God’s loving-kindness and graciousness that we are to praise Him, but also for His wonderful works. Just this morning my wife and I watched as the LORD worked out a situation in our lives, and He did it in a way as only He can. We didn’t know what to do. We were concerned and perplexed. But we stopped and asked Him for His help and wisdom. We watched everything unfold, and each of our concerns, He answered. We have been praising Him the rest of the day! He does terrific works in our lives! His beautiful works are all around us each day. From a new day dawning so we can serve Him, to specific answers to prayer that He graciously gives to us.
Believer, when you are going through hard times in your life, are you sure there is nothing in your life for which you can praise Him? Remember to “count your blessings!”
This verse teaches me that My God is Gracious and Loving, and Always Worthy of My Praise!
1. As a young child, I loved to memorize the verses that were repeated. That way I had the credit of knowing four verses, but it only required the effort of memorizing one verse. 😎
2. E. W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, the electronic version in eSword. The Hebrew word is chêsêd, the same word that is translated “mercy” in verse 1.