Tuesday, March 17
Read: Psalm 146; Isaiah 42:14-21; Colossians 1:9-14
While I Have Breath!
Psalm 146
“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”
A weakened and dying John Wesley had one thing on his mind… praising God! He used his energy to sing the Isaac Watts’s hymn, “I’ll praise my Maker while I have breath.” The hymn is based upon Psalm 146, a hymn of praise for the goodness and faithfulness of God. God is the maker of heaven and earth, who cares about the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the blind, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow! The list is like those of the prophesy of Isaiah 61:1-2 and the proclamation of Jesus’ life mission in Luke 4:18-19. The list of those identified as receiving God’s attention is interesting in the light of contemporary events.
The chief purpose of human beings, according to Westminster Shorter Catechism, is to “glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The last testament of Wesley’s life was to praise God! When he no longer had the strength and voice to sing the verse, Wesley said over and over, “I’ll praise…I’ll praise!” What a witness!
How dramatic a change would be required for you to make praising God the focus of each day? Gone would be my bad-mouthing! Gone would be my criticism! Gone would be my sarcasm! Gone with my pessimism! Oh, that I might praise God as long as I have breath!
Do you want to give it a try?
Prayer:
We praise you, O God! We will praise you all of our lives! We will sing praise to our God as long as we live! Amen.
The Reverend Dr. Ken Dunivant is a retired ordained elder in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church and serves on the Huntingdon College Board of Trustees
