Praise and Worship

The LORD has been teaching me some things about praise and worship lately, and Psalm 29 is a perfect example. Verse 1&2 says,"ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness." Praise is simply ascribing to someone or something what is good about them. We can praise our child, we can even praise our dog. But when we start praising God and ascribing to Him all the great things He has done and how awesome He really is then worship is the natural response. Praise brings us into "the splendor of His holiness" and we can't help but worship. The better view of God I have (and praise sharpens my eyesight) the more faith I have and the more joy I have. I have often heard that a fruit tree does not strain to squeeze out fruit, but I have seen trees strain to reach the sun, and there will be no fruit until it gets the sunshine that it needs. So like David, I say, "Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!"