Are you happy in the Lord

    Ps 33: 1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

   To rejoice in the Lord is for us to develop an attitude of being HAPPY when we think about our relationship with God . . . Praise of God is “comely” or suitable for the “upright” or praise of God is expected from those who seek His will.

    2 Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
    3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
    4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

   One of the ideas presented here is to not be ashamed of our love for God – so that we only give Him “secret” devotions . . . but to praise the Lord with harp – to sing unto 

    him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings . . . these phrases indicate that we (as God’s people) should not be ashamed of the love we have for God . . . and the use 

    

    of instruments in our praise of Him indicates that praise of God is not reserved ONLY for the ignorant and the unlearned . . . but those who are “more accomplished” in life

    should not “leave” (forsake) their faith in the face of prosperity . . . because the Word of the Lord will provide a firm foundation for His people . . . no matter (the station of   life) that they happen to occupy.

    5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

    God loves righteousness – because righteousness is the ONLY way to avoid judgment . . . and God loves judgment because He loves fighting against those who seek to destroy His people and bring them harm.

6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

We learn here of the extreme power that The God of righteousness holds in His hand.

    We now begin to see some of the reasons that it is appropriate for His people to offer PUBLIC praise unto God with song . . .

Contrary to “science so called” we learn here that the heavens (our atmosphere – our universe) and all the beings that inhabit our planet were brought into existence when God SAID “let there be . . .”

7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

After literally speaking all things into existence . . . the God whose WORD is right . . . the God whose “every” work is done in truth . . . the God who loves righteousness . . . the God who loves judgment . . . 

    this SAME God began to form and to mold (and to shape) His creation into what His
    Divine Will had desired it to become . . . 

    We often hear that God’s creation was perfect . . . and it was – but just because “the earth” grew or changed after it was brought into existence . . . 

    does not mean that in the beginning – God had made the earth in a “substandard” condition . . . for instance: consider your own lives.  Think about your current age . . . haven’t you changed since your birth?

The fact that you have changed since your birth . . . does not mean that you were “created” with something about you that was wrong or “substandard” (that God made a
    mistake or didn't do a good job) . . . 

    it means that you creator intended for the proper type of nourishment – love – the care and attention of “others” to mold (or to form) you into what His Will desired you to be.

    God wants us to love Him and to serve Him because we choose to love Him and to serve Him . . . not because there is something about our creation that takes this choice out of our hands . . .

If we have not received the right type of nourishment – if we have not been loved properly – if the care and attention of “others” in our life has been less than it
    should be . . . 

   then we will have been “molded” (formed/changed) by our life experiences . . . but because these "experiences" were outside of God's will - our change will not be according to the design that God has intended for us.

God set the stage for our life . . . but as “the actors” on that stage . . . our parents – our grandparents – our neighbors . . . and even our own selves . . . we are all involved in 

    whether or not “the script” (the story line) that God has written for us as “His Divine Will for our lives” is followed or ignored.

God created us – knowing that we would “change” throughout the various stages of our lives . . . Our attitude toward circumstances – our attitude toward failure – our
    attitude toward The Truth will determine the direction that this change takes us . . .

   That direction will be closer to God’s Will or more distant from God’s will . . . depending upon how we choose to react to the circumstances of our lives.

When God spoke the “worlds” into existence . . . He also began to form the worlds – and to mold the world in which we now live so that it would be a suitable habitation for
    His people . . .

    the world in which we live was never intended to last “forever” . . . but just like our bodies – the earth was born – it grows – it changes . . . and eventually it will
    die (perish) just like you and I will one day perish in the grave

II Peter 3: 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
    11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
    12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
    13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

So for the reasons that we have been discussing . . . Ps 33: 8-9 explains to us – what “the earth” should DO –  we should all fear the Lord . . . and stand in awe of Him . . .

    Ps 33: 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

And we also learn WHY we should fear Him . . . and WHY we should stand in awe of Him . . . the reason for this attitude to be found within us . . . is

9 For he “spake” and it was DONE; he “commanded” and it STOOD FAST.

Just what type of attitude have chosen to have toward God . . . do we worship God with the fear/love and respect that due as our creator/savior  . . . 

    or do we worship God because of our selfishness - like He was just a big Santa Clause . . . and is our only reason for being “nice” because we want to “use God” to get the things that we want in life? 

    (no matter what type of doctrines we promote in our  respective “religion”) . . . this attitude of worship that we have just described is the basic difference between false worship and true worship.

    Do we worship God for what WE might gain . . . or do we worship God because we want to express our gratitude for not only the blessings of this life . . . but also for the blessing of eternal life which we have received through faith and repentance?