Psalms 138:1. I will praise thee with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
We cannot be too much occupied in the praises of God. He rightly deserves all the thanksgivings we can bring to him. It is the great engagement of heaven; let us begin the music here. If we would be heavenly-minded on earth, we must be filled with the praises of God. Notice how David resolves that in praising God, it shall be done heartily. "I will praise thee with my whole heart." If there is ever a thing that ought to be done enthusiastically, it is the praising of God. I cannot bear to hear God’s praises chirped out elegantly by polite people, as if they were ashamed of what they were doing, or to see a mass of pipes and bellows left by itself to blow the praises of God by machinery, instead of men and women praising him with their heart. Oh! how acceptable it must be to God to hear the heart speak. As for the tongue and voice, however sweet their sound, there is little in it. It is the heart. Soul-music its the soul of music. "I will praise thee with my whole heart." See how bold the psalmist is about this. "Before the gods," he says, "will I do it. Before the angels, before the kings and great ones that think themselves little gods. I will speak to the honour of Jehovah’s name awe, and in the idol temples, where their worshippers will be greatly wroth about it. I will praise thee with my whole heart. Before the gods will I present praise unto thee."
Psalms 138:1. I will praise thee with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
We cannot be too much occupied in the praises of God. He rightly deserves all the thanksgivings we can bring to him. It is the great engagement of heaven; let us begin the music here. If we would be heavenly-minded on earth, we must be filled with the praises of God. Notice how David resolves that in praising God, it shall be done heartily. "I will praise thee with my whole heart." If there is ever a thing that ought to be done enthusiastically, it is the praising of God. I cannot bear to hear God’s praises chirped out elegantly by polite people, as if they were ashamed of what they were doing, or to see a mass of pipes and bellows left by itself to blow the praises of God by machinery, instead of men and women praising him with their heart. Oh! how acceptable it must be to God to hear the heart speak. As for the tongue and voice, however sweet their sound, there is little in it. It is the heart. Soul-music its the soul of music. "I will praise thee with my whole heart." See how bold the psalmist is about this. "Before the gods," he says, "will I do it. Before the angels, before the kings and great ones that think themselves little gods. I will speak to the honour of Jehovah’s name awe, and in the idol temples, where their worshippers will be greatly wroth about it. I will praise thee with my whole heart. Before the gods will I present praise unto thee."