“Praise the Lord” (part 1)
Psa 150
- One of the things that God desires from us, His church, is to Praise Him
- To praise God is to acknowledge the glories of His excellent person
- Praising God is somewhat different from thanksgiving, which describes what God has done rather than what He is.
- When we sing, we are expressing ourselves to God for WHO HE IS!
- This morning, I wonder as we sang, does God look at us as a body that really acknowledges His glory
- Or as a church that goes through the motion because that’s what we are supposed to do
- I want us to look at today some facts about praise and hopefully give each of us a better understanding of Praising the Lord.
- Read Psa 150 / Pray
TRANS: The first thing I want us to see about praise is
1. God alone is worthy of our praise
- Psa 18:3, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies”
- God is worthy of our praise because of Who He is
- Rev 5:12, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain…”
- He was slain for you and me and is worthy of praise
- He is the almighty creator…He is the almighty King…He is our mighty fortress and deliverer
- Look at Psa 18:1-2
- David sang this song on the day the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul
- But we should praise Him, not just in time of deliverance, but all the time in our lives
- Psa 113:3, “From the rising of the sun to its going down, The Lord’s name is to be praised”
TRANS: Not only is God alone worthy of our praise but…
2. It is His will for us to Praise Him
- Psa 50:23, “Whoever offers praise glorifies me…”
- When we praise Him we are also glorifying Him
- We were created by God and for God
- Isa 43:21, “This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.”
- Look at Jer 13:11
- We were made for His pleasure and it is His will for us to praise Him
TRANS: It is not only His will for us to praise Him but…
3. This praise should be continuous and also public
- Psa 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
- Our praise is to be continuous and we should not be afraid to speak it or show it
- Friend of mine named Barney “Barnett”
- He shouldn’t do that out in public like that because it’s not proper
- Psa 22:25, “My praise shall be of You in the great congregation…
- Psa 35:18b, “I will praise You among many people”
- Brethren, we have a hard time praising in the congregation so how we goin to praise him in the streets?
- We should…but many don’t in fear of what others might think
- Luke 12:8-9 Jesus says “…whoever confesses Me before men will also be confessed before the Angels but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the Angels of God.”
- Our praise should be continuous and we should not be afraid in the congregation or among many people
- Praise to God is a weapon of warfare
- When I am down in the valley…I can Praise Him to the top
- When my circustances seem all wrong and the outlook seems bad…I can praise Him to the top
- When everything that can go wrong goes wrong…I can praise Him to the top
- God desires us to praise Him and not be afraid to say “Praise the Lord
CONCLUSION
- God desires our praise…He created us…just our creation alone is a Praise to God
- God alone is worthy of our praise…because of who He is
- God’s will is for His people to praise Him
- And this praise should be continuous and made public
- Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people
- God comes and sits with, fellowships with, surrounds and consumes the praises of His people
- I want us to be able to PRAISE THE LORD without reservation, or fear
- With the sound of the trumpet and the lute and harp
- With stringed instruments and flutes and cymbals
- With everything that is within us, and everything that has breathe praise the Lord
- Next week we will continue with part 2 Praise the Lord and see what else God’s word will tell us about Praising the Lord
- Pray
