Off to the praises

Psalm 148
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him from the heights.
Praise him, all His angels praise him, all His hosts.
Praise Him sun and moon, praise Him all you stars of light.
Praise Him you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.
He also established them forever and ever;He made a decree which shall not pass away. ( He fixed their bounds which can not be passed over).
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps!
You lightning, hail, fog, and frost, you stormy wind fulfilling His orders!
Mountains and all hills fruitful trees and cedars!
Beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers and judges of the earth!
Both young men and maidens,old men and children!
Let them praise and exalt the name of the Lord for His name alone is exalted and supreme! His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven!
He has lifted up a horn for his people (giving them power, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence), a song of praise for all his Godly ones, for the people of Israel, who are near to Him, Praise the Lord!(Hallelujah!)

It all begins in the briar patch for me. Apart from knowing the extent of suffering we can not know what it means to give praise to God. I recall as a youngster many trips in the woods behind my house. When I would steer from the path the briars were a reminder of where I really needed to be.
In David's life we see this principle at work constantly. As he says in psalm 23 there is a leading out of the valley of the shadow of death knowing I am not alone. Here was a man chosen ( after God's own heart and yet he knew the briars all to well, as he ran from Saul, fighting Goliath and trying to rule a kingdom justly. It was here he learned to let go and let God.
A favorite story of mine illustrates this perfectly. It is the story of the tar baby. Brer bear and fox set a trap for brer rabbit, because they were tired of his happy demeanor. The tar baby refused to acknowledge the rabbit and before long he was caught with both hands in the tar baby. Brer bear and fox finally had him Then there is the pleading. " Please don't throw me in the briar patch". He knew the mind of his friends make him suffer.
Brer rabbit gets his way and he is back home. It is at the prickly nails a crown of thorns we are best with hope. Apart from the cross there is no resurrection.

So we follow the path of