Tomato Praise vs. Redwood Praise

Psalm 56:4 "In God, I will praise in His word, in God I trust. I am not afraid. What can flesh do to me?" [my translation]

We have lofty aspirations in our praises to the Lord. We desire for our praise to be like the branches of a tall redwood which reaches heights close to 380 feet. Oh, to exult in the glory of God! Can there be a greater honor?

Yet, praise that is not entrenched in Scripture and saturated with a love of God’s Word is more like a tomato plant, which seems impressive in its growth and has fruit. Grab a tomato plant by its stem and pull and you will find a lackluster root system that cannot support the weight of the plant for which it endeavors to grow. We gird it with poles and strings for support; it cannot hold its own weight.

When we praise God absent of a passion for His revelation of Himself we find our praise shallow – and though it will produce fruit – it will be of a sort that is derived as much from our conceptions and manipulations of heart and mind as it is representative of the sovereign God of the universe.

Turn to God’s Word and find the proper root system to support the esteemed praise that God is worthy of both producing in our hearts and receiving from our mouths. Then your praise will indeed sing with the redwoods in the wonder and grandeur of the Creator.