Opening illustration: Play the ‘Worship Haters’ video
Introduction: The scripture passage is pact with exuberance and passionate worship. The amazing words “you have heard me” prompt the tongue-tied suppliant to open the floodgates of effusive praise in verses 22-31. This crescendo of praise begins with a resolution to praise the name of Lord in the congregation (vs. 23). This resolution to praise is addressed to the Lord. On the assumption that the Hebrew verb ‘a nîtanî is a perfect of confidence (“you will surely answer”) that expresses the speaker’s assurance of a divine hearing and in view of the predominance of YQTL verbs in verses 26-31, we interpret this resolution as a vow to praise, which, like the vow to praise in Psalm 35: 18, comes right after an urgent petition and serves as another attempt to mobilize God to action. All our praises must refer to the work of redemption. The suffering of the Redeemer was graciously accepted as a full satisfaction for sin. Though it was offered for sinful men, the Father did not despise or abhor it for our sakes. This ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. All humble, gracious souls should have a full satisfaction and happiness in him. Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness in Christ, shall not labor for that which satisfies not. Those that are much in praying will be much in thanksgiving. Those that turn to God, will make conscience of worshipping before him. Let every tongue confess that he is Lord. High and low, rich and poor, bond and free, meet in Christ. Seeing we cannot keep alive our own souls, it is our wisdom, by obedient faith, to commit our souls to Christ, who is able to save and keep them alive for ever.
How to ‘raise our praise’ unto God?
1. Raise your EXUBERANCE
(a) Psalm 34: 1 “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Nobody can praise God for you. Don’t leave this place today saying ‘we praised God in church today’ if YOU didn’t praise Him. God isn’t looking at US, He’s looking at YOU. You can be surrounded by people who are praising God, but if you aren’t joining in the exaltation, He will be robbed by you of the glory He deserves. This is because we all praise Him uniquely, with our own style and our own voice. Our praise is built on our own unique circumstances.
All of the people who love you are doing the same thing, they are showing me love, but if any of them stopped loving me there would be a hole in my heart! And so it is with praising God … He wants to hear from each of us regularly. Only YOU can praise Him in the way you do it!
This is a secret that will transform your life. Praise Him in good times and bad. When you are up and when you are down. “But I can’t praise God when I’m down, it’s not natural.” That may be when we need to praise Him the most. And no, it’s not natural, it’s supernatural, and God can help us rise above! There’s no faith found in praising God after the battle is won, only during the battle. It’s easy to praise God on the mountaintop, but it takes faith to praise Him in the valley or in the most difficult circumstances of your life.
(b) Psalm 35: 18 “I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.”
Notable deliverances must be recorded, and their fame emblazoned. All the saints should be informed of the Lord’s goodness. The theme is worthy of the largest assembly; the experience of a believer is a subject fit for an assembled universe to hear of. Most men don’t hesitate to publish their grief’s; good men should proclaim their mercies. “I will praise thee among much people.” Among friends and foes will I glorify the God of my salvation. Praise - personal praise, public praise, perpetual praise - should be the daily revenue of the King of heaven. Thus, for the second time, David’s prayer ends in praise, as indeed all prayer should.
© Psalm 107: 32 “Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.”
Thanks for such mercies should be given in public in the place where men congregate for worship. “And praise him in the assembly of the elders.” The praise should be presented with great solemnity in the presence of men of years, experience, and influence. High and weighty service should be rendered for great and distinguished favors, and therefore let the sacrifice be presented with due decorum and with grave seriousness. Often when men hear of a narrow escape from shipwreck they pass over the matter with a careless remark about good luck, but it should never be thus jested with.
When a heart has been in great spiritual storms and has at last found peace, there will follow as a duty and a privilege the acknowledgment of the Lord’s mercy before his people, and it is well that this should be done in the presence of those who hold office in the church, and who from their riper years are better able to appreciate the testimony.
(d) Psalm 109: 30 “I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.”
I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth. In the celebration of God’s praises, there can be no question that these must issue from the heart ere they can be uttered by the lips; at the same time, it would be an indication of great coldness and of want of fervor, did not the tongue unite with the heart in this exercise. The reason why David makes mention of the tongue only is, that he takes it for granted that, unless there be a pouring out of the heart before God, those praises which reach no farther than the ear are vain and frivolous; and, therefore, from the very bottom of his soul, he pours forth his heart felt gratitude in fervent strains of praise; and this he does from the same motives which ought to influence all the faithful -- the desire of mutual edification; for to act otherwise would be to rob God of the honor which belongs to him.
Our faith and worship is not a private affair but profoundly public … in such a way that many are drawn to Him.
(e) Psalm 111: 1 “Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,”
All ye his saints unite in adoring Jehovah, who worked so gloriously. Do it now, do it always: do it heartily, do it unanimously, do it eternally. Even if others refuse, take care that ye have always a song for your God. Put away all doubt, question, murmuring, and rebellion, and give yourselves up to the praising of Jehovah, both with your lips and in your lives. “I will praise the Lord with my whole heart.” The sweet singer commences the song, for his heart is all on flame: whether others will follow him or not, he will at once begin and long continue. What we preach we should practice. The best way to enforce an exhortation is to set an example; but we must let that example be of the best kind, or we may lead others to do the work in a limping manner. David brought nothing less than his whole heart to the duty; all his love went out towards God, and all his zeal, his skill, and his ardor went with it. Jehovah the one and undivided God cannot be acceptably praised with a divided heart, neither should we attempt so to dishonor him; for our whole heart is little enough for his glory, and there can be no reason why it should not all be lifted up in his praise. All his works are praiseworthy, and therefore all our nature should adore him. “In the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation”; - whether with few or with many he would pour forth his whole heart and soul in praise, and whether the company was made up of select spirits or of the general mass of the people he would continue in the same exercise. For the choicest society there can be no better engagement than praise, and for the general assembly nothing can be more fitting. For the church and for the congregation, for the family or the community, for the private chamber of pious friendship, or the great hall of popular meeting, the praise of the Lord is suitable; and at the very least the true heart should sing hallelujah in any and every place. Why should we fear the presence of men? The best of men will join us in our song, and if the common sort, will not do so, our example will be a needed rebuke to them. In any case let us praise God, whether the hearers be a little band of saints or a mixed multitude. Come, dear reader, he who pens this comment is in his heart magnifying the Lord: will you not pause for a moment and join in the delightful exercise?
(f) 2 Samuel 6: 14 says, “Then David danced before the LORD with all his might …”
David exerted himself to the uttermost in singing the praises of God vocally, or by playing on an instrument, wearing an ephod which others, besides priests, sometimes wore, as Samuel did, and which David might choose to appear in, rather than in his royal robes, as being more agreeable to the service of God, and lighter for him both to walk and dance in on this occasion. It was unquestionably done as an act of religious homage, his attitudes and dress being symbolic, as they have always been in Oriental countries, of penitence, joy, thankfulness, and devotion.
2. Raise your HANDS
(a) Psalm 28: 2 “Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.”
The holy place was the type of our Lord Jesus; and if we would gain acceptance, we must turn ourselves evermore to the blood-besprinkled mercy seat of his atonement. Uplifted hands have ever been a form of devout posture, and are intended to signify a reaching upward towards God in complete surrender, a readiness, an eagerness to receive the blessing sought after. We stretch out empty hands, for we are beggars; we lift them up, for we seek heavenly supplies; we lift them towards the mercy seat of Jesus, for there our expectation dwells. O that whenever we use devout gestures, we may possess contrite hearts and so speed well with God.
(b) Psalm 63: 4 “Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”
As I now bless thee so will I ever do or rather, so as thou shall reveal thy loving kindness to me, I will in return continue to extol thee. While we live we will love. If we see no cause to rejoice in our estate, we shall always have reason for rejoicing in the Lord. If none others bless God, yet his people will; his very nature, as being the infinitely good God, is a sufficient argument for our praising him as long as we exist. “I will lift up roll hands in thy name.” For worship the hands were uplifted, as also in joy, in thanksgiving, in labor, in confidence; in all these senses we would lift up our hands in Yahweh’s name alone. No hands need hang down when God draws near in love. The name of Jesus has often made lame men leap as a hart, and it has made sad men clap their hands for joy.
© Psalm 134: 2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD.”
In the holy place they must be busy, full of strength, wide-awake, energetic, and moved with holy ardor. Hands, heart, and every other part of their manhood must be upraised, elevated, and consecrated to the adoring service of the Lord. As the angels praise God day without night, so must the angels of the churches be instant in season and out of season. “And bless the Lord.” This is their main business. They are to bless men by their teaching, but they must yet more bless Jehovah with their worship. Too often men look at public worship only from the side of its usefulness to the people; but the other matter is of even higher importance, we must see to it that the Lord God is adored, extolled, and had in reverence. For a second time the word “bless” is used, and applied to Jehovah. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let every other soul bless him. There will be no drowsiness about even midnight devotion if the heart is set upon blessing God in Christ Jesus, which is the gospel translation of God in the sanctuary.
(d) 1 Timothy 2: 8 “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;”
That men pray in every place - Public and private. Wherever men are, there prayer should be. Lifting up holy hands - Pure from all known sin. Without wrath - In any kind, against any creature. And every temper or motion of our soul that is not according to love is wrath. And doubting - Which is contrary to faith. And wrath, or unholy actions, or want of faith in him we call upon, are the three grand hindrances of God’s hearing our petitions. Christianity consists of faith and love, embracing truth and grace: therefore the sum of our wishes should be, to pray, and live, and die, without any wrath or doubt.
3. Raise your VOICES
(a) Ezra 3: 11 “And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel." Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.”
Does that mean we have to change to fit in with the times? Does that mean that we need a new Bible? Does that mean that we need to scrap our hymnals in favor of praise choruses? Does that mean that we need to replace preaching with “worship dramas?” Does that mean that we must lower our standards to accommodate the world? Does that mean that we need to be more “seeker friendly” so we can attract the big crowds? The answer to all those questions is “NO!”
What it does mean is that we need to look at how and where God is working today and be thankful for the opportunities He is giving us in these days. You see, we can become trapped in the past and totally miss what God is doing today. Or, we can get so caught up in all the modern trends and methods that we fail to realize that God does not change! What He was doing in our great-grandfather’s day, He is still doing today! How God saved souls then is still how He saves them today! Society has changed, the church has changed, the world has changed, but God cannot and will not change, Heb. 13:8; Mal. 3:6; James 1:17.)
(b) Psalm 98: 4 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice,”
Every tongue must applaud, and that with the vigor which joy of heart alone can arouse to action. As men shout when they welcome a king, so must we. Loud hosannas, full of happiness, must be lifted up. If ever men shout for joy it should be when the Lord comes among them in the proclamation of his gospel reign. John Wesley said to his people, “Sing lustily, and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.” “Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise;” or “Burst forth, and sing, and play.” Let every form of exultation be used, every kind of music pressed into the service till the accumulated praise causes the skies to echo the joyful tumult. There is no fear of our being too hearty in magnifying the God of our salvation, only we must take care that the song comes from the heart, otherwise the music is nothing but a noise in his ears, whether it be caused by human throats, or organ pipes, or far-resounding trumpets. Loud let our hearts ring out the honors of our conquering Savior; with all our might let us extol the Lord who has vanquished all our enemies, and led our captivity captive. He will do this best who is most in love with Jesus.
© Psalm 100: 1 “Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!”
The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them. Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature, his acts, and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies in every land Jehovah’s goodness is seen, therefore in every land should he be praised. Never will the world be in its proper condition till with one unanimous shout it adores the only God. O ye nations, how long will ye blindly reject him? Your golden age will never arrive till you with all your hearts revere him.
Application:
Above All?
Bring a humble, circumcised and contrite heart before God ~
Psalm 34: 18 “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” [Repentant heart; Salvation is always linked with contrition]
Psalm 51: 17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart -- These, O God, You will not despise.” [A heart mournful of sin]
Isaiah 57: 15 “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” [Relation of God’s holiness to ones who are humble and having a repentant & broken heart]
