Pure Praise

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:25-26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.us/114/act.16.25-26.nkjv
While the content of praises to God is straightforward, the context of every praise worship is often complicated. Praising God for what He has done is easier than worshipping the Creator of heaven and earth for who He is and what He knows about our prevailing situations and circumstances. Knowing fully well that what Paul and Silas knew about what God has done permitting their persecution and imprisonment does not warrant praise, we know that the context of their praise must be centred on the superior knowledge of God and their confidence in His ability to bring good out of a seemingly ugly situation. Fulfilment of promises for provision and preservation appears a good content of praise; but it has the tendency to pollute the context of praise. When the shackles of a man's necessities have no hold on the context of his praise, praises are freely rendered from a pure heart. Little wonder, the shackles on the feet and hands suddenly have little or no hold when the heart is filled with pure praise.

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