Praise the Lord

Here’s a demonstration of “praise” time in some youth meetings I attended in the past. “Who has a praise they want to share? Come on, I know some of you have a praise.” One youth says, “Oh! Oh! I got an ‘A’ on my math test.” Another youth says, “We didn’t have school Friday because of the snow.” And on and on they go. The ministry leader asks for praises and the youth are sort of programmed into sharing something ‘feel good’ that has happened to them or someone else. Is this what praising God is all about? No, there’s more to it.

One of my favorite “praise God” chapters in God’s Word is Psalm 150 which provides us with some basic answers to five question words regarding praising God.

1) WHAT? 

vs. 1a Praise the LORD!

“Praise” is the action and “the Lord” is the object of that action.

When I was very young I remember singing a song in Children’s Church; half the group sang one part and the other half sang the other part. It went something like this: “Praise Ye the Lord, Hallelujah!” It was very simple and catchy. What does “Praise Ye the Lord” have to do with Hallelujah? They mean the same thing.

“Hallelujah” is the Hebrew word for “praise ye Yahweh.” The first part means to shine, make a show, boast, rave, celebrate, commend, magnify, glorify, honor, be worthy of praise. The second part means “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” which is God’s sacred name that comes from the four letter Hebrew word that states “I am who I am”, the name God revealed to Moses thru a burning bush.

2) WHERE? 

vs. 1b Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!

Sanctuary is a consecrated place which in this verse likely refers to the physical temple sanctuary where Hebrews worshiped God.

His Mighty Heavens refers to the expanse of space that is over the earth like a dome; the visible arch of the sky. This Hebrew word is found several times in Genesis 1 describing the creation of God such as the water, land, and sky. God is the Creator of the Heavens and the earth and we are to praise Him as we walk down the beach, hike the mountains, camp in the woods, or hang out in a church building. We are to praise the Lord everywhere and anywhere.

3) WHY? 

vs. 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Perhaps you don’t think it is a big deal that the caterpillar becomes a butterfly or that the lilies float, then how about the oceans, the mountains, the stars and solar systems? Have you ever been far away from a city, outside on a clear night looking up into the sky? It is amazing! That is fruit from God almighty. He made the stars, the sun and beauty in nature and living creatures. His mighty deeds are too numerous to list and we can’t even understand all that He has done, but I know this, His works are amazing! Amen?

God wants His mighty acts to be seen, to be known. He wants you and me to talk about them not only to other people but also to God as a praise to Him.

His Excellent Greatness refers to who God is. We should be ongoing learners of His nature, essence, character, and attributes. For example, God is spirit, love, holy, all-knowing, self-existent, eternal, just, merciful, and on and on.

4) HOW? 

vs. 3-5 Praise him with 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 clashing cymbals!

We can praise the Lord by using musical instruments. Three primary types are present here: wind, stringed, and percussion. I like that there is variety and God likes variety. Also, the sounds from these instruments are attention getting not some sort of soft mellow-out put me to sleep music. We are to celebrate God when we praise Him.

This passage also mentions dancing as another example of how to praise God. I kind of envision this to be like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music movie when she was skipping around on the hilltops singing “the hills are alive with the sound of music.” This is not about some sort of sensual dancing which is so popular in our culture today.

5) WHO? 

vs. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

I remember years ago, before I came to LU for seminary, when I heard the Youth Quest singing team from LU visit the church I was part of (GABC in Richmond, VA) and sing a song that stood out to me. The title and main chorus was “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” It moved me. I was actually not familiar with this Bible verse at the time, but sometime later I came across it in my studies and drew the connection of this moving song I once heard and the powerful Holy Word of God.  Everything that has breath definitely includes me and you.

Is there any doubt what Psalm 150 is about and what we should be doing? This Psalm writer is emphatically proclaiming the importance of praising God. All these verses should end with the exclamation point.  “Praise” occurs 13 times in this chapter of 6 verses which is at least twice per verse. Emphasis is used here to get our attention. Does God have your attention; to praise Him according to His Word?

John Wesley was a great Evangelist a couple hundred years ago who founded the Methodist movement and whose name the Weslyan church is named after. I read somewhere that when he laid on his deathbed at the age of 88 those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in every circumstance. Despite Wesley's extreme weakness, he began singing the hymn, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath" based on Psalm 150:6.

God is so praiseworthy; and we are to praise Him for who He is and what He does, through different God-honoring means, anywhere, anytime! Let’s do this, let’s praise the Lord according to His Word for His glory! Amen!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

What are your thoughts about praising the Lord according to God’s Holy Word?

Mike