Try Praise

Taken from Classic Sermons on Worship compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe Andrew A. Bonar "Praise" pgs 151 -160

TRY PRAISE

Scripture: Psalms 147:1

Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

Praise --> to shine; hence to make a show, to boast; to rave; to celebrate

(Zodhiates)

I. Praise Is --> I want to look at three words of this prayer. 1. Good 2. Pleasant 3. Comely

Psalms 147:1

1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

A. Good

1. Praise is "good"; There is something in it tending to build up the soul in sanctification.

2. Prayer may have a great deal of selfishness in it, but praise is unselfish.

3. I do not know a better remedy for discontentment than praise, true praise.

(Andrew A. Bonar pg 156)

Psalms 54:6

6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.

Psalms 147:1

1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

B. Pleasant

1. Define Pleasant in Hebrew:

05273 na¡¦iym (naw-eem¡¦) AV ¡V pleasant 8, pleasure 2, sweet 2, sweet thing 1; 13

1) pleasant, delightful, sweet, lovely, agreeable

1a) delightful

1b) lovely, beautiful (physical)

2) singing, sweetly sounding, musical

2. It is pleasant to yourselves to praise, but "praise is pleasant," means more than that.

It means it is pleasant to God; it is something that God is pleased with.

Ps 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

3. Praise can follow prayer. I Chron 7:1- 3 Solomon dedicates the 1st Tabernacle „³Magnificent

1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house. 3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

The cloud of glory came down and filled the Temple as they uttered the burst of praise.

Praise followed the prayer. God inhabits the praise of His people.

The disciples asked Jesus, ¡§teach us to pray¡¨. Here is the beginning of the Lord¡¦s Prayer.

Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. I want to stop right there.

Hallowed = honor as holy; consecrate; greatly revered or respected „³ So, worthy of praise.

If you can¡¦t think of terms how to praise Him, type in Litany of Praise on the Google web-browser.

Here we see praise at the beginning of the Lord¡¦s prayer. When praying we should all stop here for a moment and praise Him. This will help you as you continue to approach God in your prayer.

4. Praise follows prayer in prison->Paul and Silas "prayed and sang praises" Acts 16:22-25

22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. They must have been pretty loud.

Praise is "pleasant" to the Lord, as well as pleasing to us.

Psalms 147:1

1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

C. Comely

1. Define Comely in Hebrew:

05000 na¡¦veh (naw-veh¡¦)

AV ¡V comely 6, seemly 2, becometh 1; 9

1) comely, beautiful, seemly

2. Dictionary Definition of Comely

(1.) Pleasing in person; handsome; graceful (2.) Suitable; becoming

Amplified Version of Psalms 147:1

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God, for He is gracious and lovely; praise is becoming and appropriate.

II. PRAISE

A. Praise Begins

1. With Salvation

You can see how praise really begins when you see a sinner give his or her heart to God.

When God takes the sinner out of the miry clay, and when He sets his feet upon the Rock. It is then he begins to sing a new song. (A. B.)