From my early days as a Christian I remember two pieces of advice that were frequently repeated. Trust the word of God rather than your feelings because it is God who made the promises and don’t wait to feel like praising before you praise him, just start.
In Psalms 9 and 10 David constructed one acrostic poem. Psalm 9 is a psalm of praise and Psalm 10 is a lament. He speaks as an individual but also in his capacity as king he speaks on behalf of the nation. He faces troubled time with praise. ‘I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 9.1-2 He then recounts how the strength of the Lord defeated the enemies of God’s people. 9.3-6 He did this because God reigns eternally and his throne is a throne of justice, 9.7 his justice is righteous and he applies those righteous judgements to mankind. 9.8-9 As David considers how God has been a stronghold for the oppressed it causes him to burst into song recounting all God has done. 9.11
David did not praise God because he lived a trouble free life. He praised God because he deserves praise and mostly he praised God because God does not forget the needy and the poor. ‘For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.’ 9.18 In our testing times it would be good to remember the character of God and what he has done through Jesus and give him an offering of praise. ‘Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. 1Timothy 1.15
So let’s join all the saints for the last 340 years in singing God’s praise with