A CRESCENDO OF PRAISE
Psalm 150
As you know, all of my life, I have been a fan of Alabama football. Even though we have lived in several states and different parts of the country and I know that every state has an intense football rivalry, nothing I have ever seen compares to the annual Alabama and Auburn game. I have to tell you, late November was not a good time when I was growing up. You see, in my family of four, I was the only Alabama fan in my family. Around this time of the year, when Alabama and Auburn played, being the only fan for Alabama in a family is not an easy responsibility. As you know, like most loyal Alabama football fans, I always liked to brag when Alabama wins the game. However, when Alabama loses, I have learned that it was best to be no where to be found and to be quiet.
As with most college rivalries, jokes abound about the other team and other school. As with most of the jokes, you can simply substitute the name for your favorite team or college and the joke works just as well. Let me show you what I mean. It seems that a young man decided to go to the University of Alabama for college. The young man was from a very poor family. As a matter of fact, his family was so poor that he was 20 years old before he got his first pair of shoes.
Now, when he got that first pair of shoes, he was proud of them. He was so proud in fact that he decided to walk backwards so he could admire the beautiful tracks his new shoes were making. But as he walked, he lost track of how far he had walked. Before he knew it, he had walked all the way to Auburn University. Now, as the story goes, the young man never did make it back to the University of Alabama to complete his education. It was not because he enjoyed Auburn University so much. When the officials at Auburn discovered that the young man could count to 20 without taking off his shoes, they made him a professor of Advanced Mathematics.
Now, I suppose it is good to be thankful for the physical gifts of the world like that young man was. But, I guess we can be too thankful if we are not careful. However, the writer of this psalm saw no limit to the amount of praise that is due to God, our Father in heaven. Over the last few weeks, I realize I have been repeating myself. I have talked again and again about the subject of praise and thanksgiving and celebration. But if you think I have been repeating myself, just wait until we examine this psalm a little closer. The writer went verse by verse by verse in his description of his praise for God.
Now, this morning, I want us to do exactly the same thing as we look at these verses. The outline for my message is very simple today. I want us to notice the WHY of praise, the HOW of praise, and the WHERE of praise. And, all along the way, you will hear the constant theme of praise. What an appropriate word for us during this Thanksgiving weekend, a weekend that should be filled with praise and celebration for all that God has done for us.
First of all this morning, let's ask the question: WHERE IS THE LORD TO BE PRAISED? Look at verse 1 again. Psalm 150 is a festival hymn. It is a hymn full of praise and adoration for all that God had done for the writer. It was meant to be a celebration of God's goodness. Now, as you look at the psalm, you see right away that it is an extremely short psalm. As a matter of fact, Psalm 150 is the shortest psalm that we have looked at together. However, despite its brevity, the psalm is packed full of words of love for God. As you read each verse and each word, you can almost hear the volume go up and up and up. The writer started off so simple and almost quietly. But then he continued to write and to feel the love of God in him. And as he progressed, he got louder and louder and louder and before long, he was ready to shout.
Now, notice that not only is the psalm short, notice how short the verses are. The verses are so short that it seems as if the writer was in a hurry to get to the next verse. He said one thing, then without wasting any time or space, he quickly moved on to his next idea. It was almost as if he could not wait. He simply wanted to move on to the next word of praise and the next word of hallelujah. You can almost hear the writer being out of breath with enthusiasm and celebration.
Also, notice how the verses are broken down. The greatest number of words between any two hallelujahs is four and that only happens one time. Every other time in this passage, between one hallelujah and the next hallelujah, there are only two words. Now do you see how much of a hurry the writer was in?
Why in the world should something like that matter to us? Simple. It matters because it shows the writer's enthusiasm for what the Lord had done in his life. Don't you think that it is about time for us as believers in Jesus Christ to show the same type of excitement over being a child of God? When was the last time you were out of breath telling someone about Jesus Christ? When was the last time you could hardly complete a sentence because you were talking so fast about Christ? Listen to me believers. Get excited about God. Be enthusiastic about what God has done in you.
Notice. Even though the writer was in a hurry, he did not leave out one single hallelujah. As a matter of fact, in just six short verses, the word "praise" is found 12 times. What does that tell us? The answer is obvious. The writer knew that praise was an important aspect of life for the child of God. It always has been, it always will be.
Look at verse 1 again. In verse 1, the writer told us where praise is to begin. Praise is to begin at home. Now, a logical question to ask is this: where is God's home? The writer told us. God's home is everywhere. The heavens are His home. So those in the heavens should praise Him. But not only are the heavens His home, also the whole earth is His home. So, the entire earth is to praise the name of the Lord. After reading verse 1, that leaves us with only conclusion. God is to be praised everywhere, all the time, by everything. There are no limits to where God is to be praised.
Now, Psalm 150 is not the first psalm to present that idea. Psalm 15 addressed the same question in a different way. In Psalm 15, David asked the audience if there was anywhere they could hide from God. David asked if they could hide from God by going up high or down low. The answer was no. David asked if they could hide from God in their home or under the ground. Again, the answer was no. Verse after verse in Psalm 15 David asked the audience to tell him where they could escape from God.
You know what his conclusion was? He concluded that there was absolutely no place to be found where God is missing. There is absolutely no place to hide from God. David said in Psalm 15 that God is everywhere. The writer of Psalm 150 goes even further. He said that since God is everywhere, then we should praise Him everywhere.
Now, each of the psalms that we have examined over these last several weeks have expressed various ways to praise God. But I think that Psalm 150 expresses it the best. Psalm 150 not only tells us why to praise God, it also tells us where to praise Him. Look at the verses again. The writer tells us that God's glory fills the heavens. He reminds us that God's glory fills the whole earth. The writer reminded us that God's glory fills the entire universe as well. Because God is everywhere, because God's glory fills every part of the universe, our praise should fill the universe as well.
Now, listen to me. Our praise must not be limited to God's house, to our times of worship in this building. Now, I realize that it is often easier to praise Him in church. It is easier to lift our praise with other believers and with a wonderful song service and with the preaching of God's word and with other believers joining together in prayer. I know that it is easier to do that. However, our praise cannot be limited to just when there are other Christians around. Our praise must bubble over from within us everywhere we go even if we are alone.
Why is that so important? Listen to me. It is
important because even though no one else is with us, God is always with us. We are missing blessing after blessing if we only praise God during our few hours a week at church. If the only time you or I praise God is when we are in church, we are failing God miserably. God deserves more than our occasionally tipping our hat to Him. God deserves our constant and daily praise.
Now, the writer did not stop by telling us where to praise the Lord, he went a second step. In verse 2, we find WHY THE LORD IS TO BE PRAISED. The Lord is to be praised because of His greatness. Everything you see, God created. Everything you cannot see, God created. Can any of us match that feat? No. Not a one of us has that ability. But God does. Everything we feel, see, hear, smell, taste, God made it. God is to be praised for His greatness.
But, if that is not enough reason to praise, let me give you one more reason. God's power is unlimited. There is nothing little about God. Did you hear that? There is nothing too little for our Father in heaven. Not even the tiniest grain of sand on the beach misses His attention. How could it? God put it there. The smallest grain of seed, the smallest insect, the smallest plant, the smallest star, God knows them all.
Beloved, listen to me. No matter how insignificant you feel, no matter how unimportant you think you might be, just remember that God has not forgotten about you. How could He? He created you. He knows everything there is to know about you. We must never forget that God is a God of even the littlest details.
Now, on the other side of the coin, even though God is a God of the details, we cannot forget that God is also so great that nothing is greater than Him. We can look at the sun in all of it's glory, yet it will never match the radiance of God. We can look at the earth and how grand it is, but it fits into the palm of God's hand. We can look at the majesty of the universe, yet God is the One who put the universe into order. God is greater than anything or anyone else. God is greater than our imagination can ever imagine.
Now, notice the balancing act here. Yes, God is great. There is no limit to His power. There is no limit to His knowledge. There is no limit to His ability. But, at the same time, God cares so much for us that nothing can ever happen to us that He will not know about. Do you need a reason to praise God today? Do you need a reason to celebrate? Do you need a reason to be thankful? If you need a reason to praise God, there it is. God is great, He has no equal. But at the same time, God cares for each of us. God loves us.
Now thirdly, HOW IS THE LORD TO BE PRAISED? Look at verses 3-5 again. The Lord is to be praised with every bit of ability that we have. God is to be praised with stringed instruments. God is to be praised with wind instruments. God is to be praised with percussion instruments.
It is interesting to notice what we find here. In these verses, we find the most complete listing of instruments found anywhere in the Old Testament. Why did the writer list so many musical instruments? I think the answer is simple. The writer reminded us to praise the Lord with everything we have. Every kind of instrument, whether it is solemn or happy, percussion or melodic, gentle or strident, all of these instruments are to be rallied to praise the Lord of the universe. The writer tells us to pick up our instrument! We are to join in with the band of heaven! We are to make a joyful noise to the Lord!
Notice what else is required if we play all of those instruments and do all that is suggested. We have to use our breathe to play the trumpet or wind instrument. We have to use our fingers to strike the strings. We have to use our whole hand to beat the timbrel. We have to use our feet to move in sacred dance. Do you see where the writer was headed? The psalmist told us that the entire body is to be used in praising God. Everything about us is to praise God.
So, how is the Lord to be praised? The Lord is to be praised with whatever ability we have. The Lord is to be praised with whatever talent we have been blessed with. Don't take for granted your ability. Don't minimize your skills. Your talents, abilities, skills come from God. Give Him the credit for what you are able to do. Praise Him for what you can accomplish.
You know, it is sad, but true, not enough Christians join the heavenly band. Not enough Christians take seriously their praise. Not enough Christians recognize the source of their abilities. When that happens there is always a result. The music is not as good. The fellowship is not as sweet. The praise is not as joyful. Listen to me. It is time for us to pick up our instruments and join in on the fellowship.
When we do that, we let everyone know that we are serious about praising the Lord. People will not know that we are serious if we are doing nothing but sitting around and looking sad. People will never know how much Christ means to us if we are doing nothing. Believers must show some enthusiasm. We must sing. We must shout. We must praise the Lord. When we do, people will know that Christ is real in our lives.
Now fourthly, in verse 6, we find our last idea, BY WHOM IS THE LORD TO BE PRAISED? That may be the simplest question to answer yet. The writer tells us that God is to be praised by every living being. Now, that part is obvious. But the writer did not stop there. He leads us to believe also that every animal as well is to praise God. In other words, there are no exceptions when it comes to praising God. The choir member is to praise. The pew sitter is to praise. The Deacon is to praise. The teacher is to praise. The pastor is to praise. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to praise God our heavenly Father.
Now, let's be honest this morning. Are you praising God as you should? Are you praising Him with your talent? Are you praising Him with your voice? Are you praising Him with everything you have? If not, a change needs to take place in your life. A change needs to take place in your life today, right now, before you leave this place.
The writer goes one step further. The whole universe is the temple in which all of us are gathered to worship God. You see, we do not have to wait until Sunday or Wednesday to worship God. We can begin anywhere and everywhere. Because the whole universe and the whole world is His in the first place, we can worship and praise and celebrate anywhere.
From the youngest of us to the oldest of us, we are to praise. I have to tell you, what a day that will be when all men, women, boys and girls, all of us join together, in one song and in unison, to praise and glorify our Father in heaven.
But beloved, for that to be a wonderful day, there has to be another day, the day you give your life totally to Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Have you done that? Have you made your choice?
