I recently found a little paperback on my parents’ shelves
entitled: The Practice of Praise. I picked it up and realized it was by
C.H. Spurgeon. I suppose I’m not used to seeing books by Spurgeon in paperback,
which might be why I had never noticed it before. Well, anyway, I did notice it, and this
past Sunday I sat down and read it. It took me about three times as long as it
would have otherwise, because I kept having to stop and jot down quotes, but I
thoroughly enjoyed it, and there were many challenging ideas in it about the importance
of praising God.
The book
itself seems to be a collection of sermons on the topic of praise. The sermon
which made up the first chapter dealt with remembering God’s goodness, which
will of course prompt us to praise God. According to Spurgeon,
“We cannot utter what we have forgotten. Thus, we need close
observation to establish a strong memory concerning the Lord’s great goodness.”*
He then goes on to state five ways we can do this. Here they
are:
1. Be acquainted with the documents in which His goodness is
recorded. -In other words, read your Bible! There is no better way of
becoming versed in the goodness of God than to read about it in His Word!
2. Diligently observe memorials. -The first two
memorials he mentions are baptism and communion, both of which are memorials of
the goodness of God demonstrated in Christ’s suffering, death, and
resurrection. Spurgeon also mentions personal experience as a source of memorials.
I know many people who celebrate their spiritual birthday with more enthusiasm
then their physical birthday. As Spurgeon says,
“O, dear heart, were you ever
born again? Then you will remember His great goodness”**
Another way Spurgeon suggests using memorials is to use the objects
around you as reminders of different aspects of God's goodness. For example, I have some objects in my
room that were given to me by dear friends, and when I look at those things, I
am reminded of God’s goodness to me shown through their kindness and love.
There are other things that God has provided in response to a specific need,
like my car. Whenever I drive my car, I am reminded of God’s goodness in providing
for me. If you think about it, anything you own can be a reminder of God's goodness in some way or another.
3. Classification or Memory devices -As I read what Spurgeon had to say about these two categories, it all basically boiled down to what we now would call journaling. Spurgeon recommends that the
forgetful Christian
“Take care to set God’s mercies in order. Enumerate them as
you can, and so fix them in your memory.”***
4. Utterance -Speak them! Whether to yourself, to your
family, to Christian brothers or sisters, or to the lost world around you, God’s
goodness is to be proclaimed!
5. Sing -This is similar to speaking, but it is a widely-acknowledged
fact that putting words to music is one of the best ways to memorize them. Take
any hymnal and you will find it full to overflowing with songs of God’s
goodness. Having songs about God's goodness filed away in your heart and mind can be such a blessing. The other morning, I woke up with a song about God's goodness stuck in my head, and it was such an encouraging way to wake up!
These are just a few ways to remind yourself of God’s
goodness during these difficult days, but I hope you will find them as helpful
as I have!
*Spurgeon, C.H.
The Practice of Praise Whitaker House: Kensington. 1995 p.20
** Ibid.
p.23
*** Ibid.
p.24
