Thought of the Day May 6, 2018 Praise elicits joy

By 12:33 PM


Yes, Praise brings joy to the heart of those who utter it.

Here's how C.S. Lewis puts it in Reflections on the Psalms:
I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise…. The world rings with praise—lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game…. I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: 'Isn't she lovely? Wasn't it glorious? Don't you think that magnificent?' The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.


The more our praise flows from the reality of our relationship with God, the more the relationship brings joy within us. The more free and spontaneous our praise of God is, the more joy becomes a obvious feeling within us. Praise, thus, elicits joy.

You Might Also Like

0 comments