His Name is Special

Psalms 148:1-14

(1) Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!

(2) Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!

(3) Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!

(4) Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!

(5) Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.

(6) He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.

(7) Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps;

(8) Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

(9) Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars;

(10) Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl;

(11) Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth;

(12) Both young men and virgins; Old men and children.

(13) Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.

(14) And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!

Do you get the impression we are to praise the LORD!?

Somewhere in the annals of my memories, I seem to recall a stern lecture on using "gosh" or "darnit" or "gosh darnit" when I was a in 1st or 2nd grade.  My mom pulled me aside and explained why that was inappropriate for someone who loves God and has a relationship with Him.  She claimed these were thinly veiled references to the more serious offenses of, well, you know, damning someone using God's name. My sister must've received the same reprimand or something, as I remember her using "good gravy!" as an exclamatory response or remark.

When we came to Calvary (back in the predawn of time), our then pastor, Pastor Ramey, used to say "Praise the Lord!" ALL the time.  Whether it was good or bad, "Praise the Lord!" was the exclamatory joyfully spilling from Pastor Ramey's mouth.  He said he took God literally when told "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD."

 

Here are just a few examples of what the Bible says about continually praising God:

 

Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 35:28 - And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness and Your praise all day long.

Psalm 63:3 - Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.

Psalm 71:6 - By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; my praise is continually of You.

Psalm 71:8 - My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your glory all day long.

Psalm 74:21 - Let not the oppressed return dishonored; let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

Psalm 99:3 - Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He.

Psalm 102:18 - This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

Psalm 109:30 - With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; and in the midst of many I will praise Him.

Psalm 117:1 - Praise the LORD, all nations; laud Him, all peoples!

Psalm 145:2 - Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Psalm 147:1 - Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

Psalm 150:6 - Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

 

Even the "OMG" emoticon/abbreviation used in textings, emails and comments on MySpaces, Facebooks, etc., is an offense to God.  Do you agree or disagree with that?  Read on to see what God says about His every special name.
 

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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The Ten: His Name Matters Posted: 26 Aug 2009 02:35 PM PDT "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (Exodus 20:7) Before our son was born, my wife and I talked about all the different names we could give to him. Some of them were funny. Some were unusual. Some were traditional. We settled on Samuel, and now we can't imagine him with any other name. His name and his identity are connected. He is Sam. Sam he is. God takes His own name very seriously. Throughout Scripture, He makes a huge deal about it. He is connected to His name, especially Yaweh, in a sense that goes beyond the connection we have to our own names. It is His identity, His reputation, and it carries His power. So this command is a warning: If you disrespect God's name, you disrespect Him. How would you do that? You could borrow its power for lying ("I swear by God's name I didn't cheat on the test!") or -- in the ancient world, especially -- for certain ungodly spells or rituals. But the most common way to misuse His name now is to use it as if it doesn't matter, at all, by cussing with it, joking with it, or "damning" people or things with it (even if you don't really mean it). The third commandment tells us that God takes that personally. Think: Have you noticed yourself or other Christians using God's or Jesus' name disrespectfully? Why do you think so many of us seem to be okay with that? Pray: Ask God to help you to never use His name inappropriately or disrespectfully. Do: Notice how many times you hear people use God's or Jesus' names for swearing in the next few days.