What started out as one post, Stay in the Sanctuary, has turned into a series. I did not intend that, but God keeps teaching me what it means to stay in His sanctuary. This helps me to gain His perspective on the events in my life and the world around me. The latest area that He has been teaching me is in the area of praise. God’s sanctuary is a place of praise.
As we spend time in God’s sanctuary, we see that “Honor and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” (Psalm 96:6) As we begin to see these things, it is only fitting that we should “Lift up [our] hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” (Psalm 134:2)
Matthew Henry says of Psalm 150:1, “Praise EL, or the strong one, in His holy place…Praise begins at home. In God’s own house pronounce His praise.” While it is important to praise God in His house or what we call the church today, we mustn’t forget that we are His temple. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Matthew Henry goes on to list ways that we can praise God. “Praise God with a strong faith; praise God with holy love and delight; praise Him with an entire confidence in Christ; praise Him with a believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise Him with an earnest desire towards Him; and a full satisfaction in Him; praise Him by a universal respect to all His commandments; praise Him by a cheerful submission to all His disposals; praise Him by rejoicing in His love, and solacing yourselves in His great goodness; praise Him by promoting the interests of the Kingdom of His grace; praise Him by a lively hope and expectation of the Kingdom of His glory.” WOW!! How on earth can I do all that? By staying in the sanctuary of His Word!
In the days ahead I want to spend more time meditating on each of these areas so that I can praise Him. One area in particular that stood out to me is to solace myself in His great goodness. God is taking me to another level in understanding His goodness. It’s not enough to know that He is good. To show true praise for this attribute of God, I must find comfort in it! I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in the days ahead as I continue on my quest of staying in the sanctuary and gaining more of His perspective from His Word!
Drinking at the Springs 
Excellent post!
Ahh….sanctuary….
To me it’s a place to be real before God and feel His grace, love & forgiveness wash over me.
Thank you for sharing this blessed message. I love your insights and encouragement. Blessings.
I love the approach of singling out individual things to praise about God. Years ago I started an Attributes Journal about God. It was so helpful to see which good things about God we can emulate (kindness, giving, forgiveness, etc.) and which are God’s alone (glory, omnipresence, etc.) I’m sure you will continue gleaning much from your praise of God by staying in the sanctuary.
Reading this for a second time, I was captivated by the phrase, “solace myself in His great goodness.” Peace washed over me as I contemplated what this “solace” would mean in my life. ❤️
This is the phrase that stood out for me too! It made me think of the Psalm 32 that says, ‘You are my hiding place…’