Praise and Thanksgiving

I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30 NRSV



I was so excited this morning to see that the scripture I had chosen was only one verse. This will be easy, I thought. Then all of the following questions (and answers) began popping up in my head.

What is the real meaning of this verse? Sometimes I wonder what we lose in the translation from Hebrew to English in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. With this psalm, does song mean singing or does it mean saying a psalm? Is the second line simply a reiteration of the first line? In other words, does the second line simply repeat the first line?

Either way, the point is to glorify God. Actually it says to bless God's name which we don't know. We do know different names that God is called and I think that each of us calls God a different name. For example, some folks I know always say Heavenly Father when praying. I always just say God. What name are we to be using when saying this blessing?

I am also stuck here because I am trying to recall if I know of a song that praises God's name. Possibly the songs Emmanuel and El Shadai. There may be others.

Do you see what is going on here? Instead of spending time praising God, blessing God's name and magnifying God with thanksgiving, I have instead tried to rationalize and intellectualize what I really want to be doing.

Good thing that I don't think I am alone in this.

God, we praise your name and magnify you with thanksgiving! In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Name one thing you are thankful for in this very moment.

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims