February 16 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 113:

¹Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
²Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
³From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised.
⁴The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
⁵Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
⁶Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
⁷He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
⁸That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
⁹He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

Devotional

All the servants of the Lord are called upon to praise Him. He is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. He is the sovereign over all - infinite, eternal, and all glorious. But He graciously concerns Himself with our affairs on earth. His mercy and power have been manifested, as the psalm shows, in His raising the poor out of the dust and lifting the needy out of the dunghill, in His making the barren woman to be a joyful mother of children. Surely our holy and glorious Sovereign, infinite in loving-kindness, performing wonderful works to the children of men - surely our almighty God, full of perfections, should receive the pure and fervent praises of His people. Yes, from the rising of the sun to its setting His servants should praise Him! They should keep Him in remembrance, live every moment as in His presence, honor Him constantly by their obedience, thank Him always, and praise Him unfailingly from morning to night.

To the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - the triune God - we give our praise. We are overwhelmed by the greatness of His grace and love to us. On Him our salvation completely depends; by His goodness we are daily sustained; in all the sorrows of life we are comforted and upheld by His love and power; and He has appointed for us His servants a glorious destiny in His presence forever.

Welcome to "Think on These Things," a twelve-week daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)