Worthy of our praise

 

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.  --Psalm7:17

One of the great themes in the book of Psalms is praise.  According to Strong's Concordance, there are 132 verses in the book of Psalms that use the word at least once; a form of the word is used over 150 times in this one book alone.

Last week we started our study of the book of Psalms with the first chapter, which centers on the Law.  We saw that there are blessings that follow those who follow the Law, and wickedness follows those who do not pursue it with their whole heart.

Today I am going to skip to the last chapter, which centers on praise; specifically the praise of God.  We will try to show how one logically follows the other--how the Law of God leads to the praise of Him.  Praise is a form of worship, but it is so much more.

I am not a Hebrew scholar (by any means!), but Strong's shows me at least four Hebrew words that are translated "praise" in English.  The first is t'hilla (tranliterating into the English alphabet).  It is a noun, as in giving praise to God.  It means praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and glory, all of which God deserves.  The second Hebrew word is zamar, a verb meaning to sing praise or make music.  Many of the Psalms in our Bible were set to music and were either played or sung in the Temple.  The third term is yada, which is most interesting, because it means to throw or cast down, to give thanks or laud (something or someone), and to confess.  I can imagine the sincerest form of praise might be when we first see Jesus in heaven--we might throw ourselves to the ground, thanking Him profusely for His great mercy and sacrifice, and confessing His great might and power.

The fourth Hebrew word translated "praise" is halal and it is where we get our word "Hallelujah".  The Hebrew word literally means to shine, to be boastful, or to be commended.  When combined with the first syllable of the name Jahweh, we get halal-Ja, or Praise God.  More specifically, it is glorifying His name, to boast about Him, to commend Him to others.  Interestingly, it has an alternate meaning in Hebrew--it also means to be foolish.  In our context, I take that to mean putting so much effort into our praise that the world thinks we are insane.  I hope that I am not taking too many liberties here, but we all know someone who is so sold out for God, so full of His praise that he borders on craziness.

Let's explore the passage together.

Praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens!  Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!  Praise Him with the trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp!  Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe!  Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud, crashing cymbals!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!

Praise is a Command

We are commanded to praise (acknowledge and glorify) God throughout the Bible, not just in the Psalms.  When God called Abraham and promised him that He would make a nation of his descendants, He commanded that Abraham sacrifice what was most precious to him: his son, Isaac.  Once Abraham was shown to be willing, God substituted a ram in place of his son.  Later in the Old Testament, God instructed Moses on conducting blood sacrifices as a form of worship.  In the New Testament, God substituted His only Son as a blood sacrifice, so that blood sacrifice of sheep and bulls is no longer necessary.

This is why Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Him (Jesus) then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name."  We are commanded to praise God because of His mercy and grace, His mighty deeds, His excellent greatness.  It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 100:3).

God does not demand our praise because He needs it.  He is great whether we acknowledge Him or not.  C.S. Lewis says "it is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to man." (Reflections on the Psalms, pg 108).  He wants us to praise Him for our own benefit.  It is an evidence of our salvation.  Psalm 50:23 says, "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God."  Thus praise is a bridge from the Law to our salvation.

Praise is a Contagion 

Not only does godly praise give us access to God, it can be a work of evangelism.  We can show others how great God is by our act of blessing the Lord at all time, so that His praise will continually be in our mouths (Psalm 34:1).  The very next verse says, "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad."

C.S. Lewis said, "Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: 'Isn't she lovely? Wasn't it glorious? Don't you think that magnificent?'  The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what men do when they speak of what they care about."  (Reflections on the Psalms, pg 110).

It is not so important that the hearer believe you, but that you said it.  Sharing our favorite singer, or movie, or television program may not make everyone appreciate it; but for a select few, those who trust your judgment enough to try it for themselves and find similar enjoyment and fulfillment, you have made a convert.  How much more praise, then, should we offer up for the Supreme Object of our affection?  If you love Him fully, you will tell others about Him. The world should hear your offerings of praise.

Praise is a Coronation

When I was growing up there was a popular song on Christian radio that said, "He inhabits the praise of His people."  This text was taken from Psalm 22:3, but it is a poor translation.  I think the ESV gets much closer to the meaning of it: "Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel."

When we praise God, we invite Him to rule over us.  When we spend time praising Him, we give Him dominion over our time.  When we spend our breath praising Him aloud, we give Him dominion over our life and breath; in essence, the breath of life is pouring out from God into us and overflowing in our words and songs. 

C.S. Lewis again:

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.  It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete until it is expressed.  It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people you are with care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with.  This is so even when our expressions are inadequate, as of course they usually are.  But how if one could really and fully praise even such things to perfection--utterly 'get out' in poetry or music or paint the upsurge of appreciation which almost bursts you?  Then indeed the object would be fully appreciated and our delight would have attained perfect development.  The worthier the object, the more intense this delight would be.  If it were possible for a created soul fully to 'appreciate', that is to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme beatitude.  It is along these lines that I find it easiest to understand the Christian doctrine that 'Heaven' is a state in which angels now, and men hereafter, are perpetually employed in praising God.  --(Reflections on the Psalms, ppg 111-112).

The beatitude, or blessing, of God is met through our voicing His praise.  The Law is fulfilled through our giving Him praise.  The halls of heaven are closer when we praise Him.  Hallelujah!