42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Praise – to speak highly of the greatness and excellence of God - is the natural outflow from a thankful heart. Indeed, not only was the healed blind beggar praising but also all those who beheld the miracle.
“Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan's temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. It does not exist in hell." Ellen Vaughn
King David gives us the proper perspective on praise:
1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Psalms 9:1-2 (NIV)
“Holy joy is the life of thankful praise, as thankful praise is the language of holy joy.” Matthew Henry
Unfortunately, most Christians do not manifest this same attitude of gratitude. Believer, this should not be. Christians should be the most grateful of all people. He has healed us of our spiritual poverty and darkness setting our feet upon the Rock of Jesus giving us a firm place to stand. He has empowered us with the precious Holy Spirit enabling us to live a life worthy of the gospel allowing us to withstand every attack of the evil one cloaked and armed with His armor. He has bestowed upon us the gifts of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control – in ever increasing measures as we submit to His mighty workings in our lives. He holds out to us the abundant life in the here and now and eternal life in the forever. I repeat: Christians should be the most grateful of all peoples. Peter echoes this:
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)
Of these verses The Bible Knowledge Commentary states:
“God’s purpose in choosing believers for Himself is so that they may declare the praises of Him before others. “Praises” could also be translated “eminent qualities,” “excellencies,” or “virtues”. Believer-priests should live so that their heavenly Father’s qualities are evident in their lives. They are to serve as witnesses of the glory and grace of God, who called them out of darkness into His wonderful light. Peter explained this figure with a quotation from Hosea 2:23. “Darkness” refers to the time when his readers were pagans, ignorant of God’s provision of salvation (cf. Col. 1:13), when they were not a people, when they had not received mercy. His “wonderful light” now illumines the people of God because they have received mercy. The practice of holiness, in which God’s people serve as a holy and royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices and extolling His excellencies, is the proper response to the mercy they have received.”
19 He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised. Deut 26:19 (NIV)
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus also tells us:
14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matt 5:14-16 (NIV)
“It is too bad that many believers minimize the place of good works in the Christian life. Matthew 5:16 ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven’. We do not perform good works to get any glory for ourselves, but we do them to glorify His blood given on our behalf. Hebrews 13:16 indicates that our good works are actually ‘spiritual sacrifices’ that we offer to God.” Wales Goebel
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Heb 13:15-16 (NIV)