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If I were to put to you the question, "Do you pray?" the answer would be very quickly given by every Christian person, "Of course I do, and every day, and often in the day." But let me change the inquiry, and say, "Do you bless God every day?" I am not sure the answer would be quite so certain, so general, so prompt. Praise is certainly not so common in family prayer as other forms of worship. Be this our resolve: "I will extol Thee," etc. We ought to do this, for it is due to God, and praise is pre-eminently characteristic of the true child of God. It is singularly beneficial to ourselves; if we had more of it we should be greatly blest. Besides, unless we praise God here how are we preparing for our eternal home? Now to help in this joyful duty of praise let us turn to our text and see in it —

I. THE RESOLVE OF PERSONAL LOYALTY.

1. He pays homage to God as his King.

2. He personally appropriates God to himself by faith. "My God." That word "my" is a drop of honey, nay, like Jonathan's word, it is full of honey. And —

3. He is firmly resolved to praise God. My text has four "I wills" in it. And —

4. He himself will do this. No matter what other people do. Let none of us lose our own personality in the multitude, saying, "Things will go on very well without me." Each one of us must praise God.

5. And he will be always doing this In the second clause of our text we have —

II. THE CONCLUSION OF AS INTELLIGENT APPRECIATION. "And I will bless," etc.

1. He presents the worship of inward administration. Therefore he blesses the Divine name.

2. And he meant that he wished well to the Lord. To bless a person means to do that person good. If we cannot give anything to God, we can desire that He may be known, loved and honoured by all men. It seems that David studied the character and doings of God, so that he found nothing in God which he could not praise. And he is very intense over this. "For ever and ever." The words run parallel with Addison's verse which tells that "Eternity's too short to utter all Thy praise." Somebody cavilled at that once, and said, "Eternity cannot be too short." But in poetry and in praise "the letter killeth." Language is poor when the soul is on fire.

III. There is also THE PLEDGE OF DAILY REMEMBRNACE. "Every day will I," etc. For the greatness of gifts we have already received demands it. To-day it becomes us to sing of the mercies of yesterday. Each day has its mercy, and should render its praise. If we cannot praise God on any one day for what we have had that day let us praise Him for to-morrow. There is a seasonableness about the praising of God every day. For the praise of God is always in season. The last sentence tells —

IV. THE HOPE OF ETERNAL ADORATION David believed, therefore, that God was unchangeable, and in the immortality of the soul. And his resolve was that while here he would ever praise. But yonder we will praise him better.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

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KJV: {David's Psalm of praise.} I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

WEB: I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever.