「漸漸了解上帝」的意義，包含了你一信靠祂，就會越來越明白祂在你生命中的計劃和目的。祂會以祂的方法引導你（詩25），錯誤時糾正你（詩26），危難中保護你（詩27，28），大衛的回應──也是上帝對每一個真心相信祂的人所希望的回應──全心全意的讚美（詩29）與感謝（詩30）。

        讚美與感謝是同義字呢？還是有所不同？
        詩篇二十九篇與三十篇對讚美與感謝描繪出不同的景象。第二十九篇是一首讚美詩，重點是上帝的榮耀從震動大地的雷雨中彰顯；第三十篇則是感恩的見證，強調大衛經歷上帝的拯救，把感謝獻給上帝。第二十九篇以讚美上帝為中心，述說上帝在祂的屬性與作為裡，彰顯自己的榮耀。第三十篇卻以人類的感謝為中心，申明信徒對上帝塑造自己生命的感謝！
        了解兩者之間的不同後，就能在你禱告生活中增添一個新的空間！如此較容易改進「自我中心」的禱告習慣，雖然祈求在禱告裡是相當重要的一部份（太7：7、8），卻不是唯一的一部份，今天你禱告的時候，先以讚美上帝的榮耀和屬性來代替「自我中心」的禱告；日後禱告時，在專注自己的事之前，養成專注上帝的大能的習慣，如此，你就會像詩篇作者一樣，能夠十分自然的讚美上帝；感謝上帝了！

        滿載讚美的詩篇
        詩篇中充滿了讚美與感謝──這個事實可由讚美重覆了一百六十二次，感謝重覆了二十二次，以及謝恩重覆了八次得到證明。這使你不容忽略詩篇作者要你學習「讚美上帝」及「將感謝獻給上帝」的心意！

上帝仍在寶座上，我們仍在祂的腳凳上，兩者相距僅一膝之隔而已！

English

        A growing relationship with God includes a growing understanding of what He can accomplish in your life as you trust in Him. He will guide you in His way (25), vindicate you when you're wronged (26), and protect you when you're in danger (27-28). David's response —and the response God desires from every true believer—is an outpouring of heartfelt praise (29) and genuine thanksgiving (30).

        Praise and thanks. Psalms 29 and 30 pro-vide a helpful illustration of the difference in those terms.
        Psalm 29, a paean of praise, focuses on God's glory as revealed in an earth-shaking thunderstorm. Psalm 30, a testimony of thanksgiving, centers around David's experience of divine deliverance and his resulting gratitude to God. Psalm 29 illustrates praise, which is God-centered, focusing on God's glory as revealed in His mighty attributes and works. Psalm 30 illustrates thanksgiving, which is more human-centered, highlighting the believer's gratitude for God's involvement in his life.
        Understanding the difference between the two can add a new dimension to your prayer life! It's easy to develop the habit of "me-centered" prayers in which your problems are central. And diough petition is an important part of prayer {Matthew 7:7-8), it is not the only part. As you take time to pray today, begin instead with praise for God's glory and character ("You-c entered" prayer). Make it a pattern in your praying that before you get caught up in your own concerns, you get caught up in God's greatness. Then you, like the psalmist, will be both praising and thanking the Lord!

        The Praise-Packed Psalms
        Praise and thanksgiving permeate the Psalms—a fact seen in the repetition of the terms praise (162 times), thanks (22 times), and thanksgiving (8 times). It's difficult to miss the psalmist's intent that you learn to "praise the Lord" and "give thanks unto the Lord"!

God is still on the throne, we're still on His footstool, and there's only a knee's distance between.