There’s an old chorus we like to sing at our church: From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the LORD is to be praised. That chorus comes right from Psalm 113:3, and it’s a poetic way of saying we should praise God all day long.
“From the rising of the sun,” or we’d say, “sunrise;” if we could get our minds on God’s goodness and grace first thing in the morning, wouldn’t it help our whole day? After all, the Lord’s mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23), so that’s fuel to get us praising God right there.
Our worship should start from sunup “to the going down of the same,” or until “sundown.” This week in Northern Michigan, the sun will come up about 6:00 a.m. and not set until nearly 9:30 p.m. That’s a long time to be praising God! And while other matters throughout our day will distract us, when we do get some downtime, could we really praise God all day?
The end of the verse is really the key to ongoing worship: “the name of the LORD is to be praised.” God’s “name” is His character. His “name” stands for all that He is. The LORD’s name represents His holiness, His grace, His righteousness, mercy, and so much more. In the Book of Proverbs we read, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower;” a place of safety to which a believer can run (18:10). To praise His name, then, is really praising God Himself.
As God is infinite, we will never exhaust everything about Him that we can worship. It may take a little thought on our part to remember what we love most about God. Then, try praising Him all day long!
