UnMasked

UnMask – Uncloak an imposter: To take off a cloak. To reveal the true nature of: Expose. To remove a mask from. To remove one’s mask.

Psalm 34:1-10 (ESV)

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

UnMask Your Mouth

A Closed Mouth Doesn’t Get Fed

Introduction: Talk about Covid-19 programming us to mask up, shutting down churches and keeping ball parks, major secular concert venues, political rallies and racial marches open. We were programmed to cover our mouths for prevention of getting this God-forsaken disease. Many people died from it all over the world and fear was in the land.

However; now that it is over. Some of us are such creatures of habit that even though the mask are off, we are still programmed to keep our mouths shut with ALL this BREATH and LIFE within us.

We say we are believers, but at times it seems we open our mouths to celebrate everyone BUT The ONE who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light and recently has delivered us through and from the pandemic. The proof of this testimony is that we ALL are still here!!

Praising God is the activity of God’s creatures in honoring God because of the acts and the nature of God. Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude to God for his care and concern, especially as shown through his redemptive acts.

Concept Summary

In the ot, there are five main groups of words that convey the ideas of “praise” and “thanksgiving.” The most frequently occurring word for this concept is the verb הָלַל (hālal, “to praise”); its family also includes the noun תְּהִלָּה (tĕhillâ, “praise”). Thanksgiving is primarily expressed with the verb יָדָה (yādâ, “to give thanks”) and the related noun תּוֹדָה (tôdâ, “thanksgiving”). Additionally, other verbs which express the action of praising and giving thanks are רָנַן (rānan, “to cry out in praise”), זָמַר (zāmar, “to sing praise”), and שָׁבַח (šābaḥ, “to praise”). In the nt, there is also a variety of words for these concepts, some of which occur only once or twice in the nt. Common words for this concept include the verbs εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteō, “to give thanks”) and εὐλογέω (eulogeō, “to bless”).

Let me say this before I get started. Praise is not just a practice in church.

Praise is an attitude of gratitude that takes us to a new altitude.

Here’s what the Message Bible says:

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Psalm 34)

1  34 I bless GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.

2  I live and breathe GOD; if things aren’t going well, hear this and be happy:

3  Join me in spreading the news; together let’s get the word out.

4  GOD met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears.

5  Look at him; give him your warmest smile.Never hide your feelings from him.

6  When I was desperate, I called out, and GOD got me out of a tight spot.

7  GOD’s angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray.

8  Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—how good GOD is. Blessed are you who run to him.

9  Worship GOD if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness.

10  Young lions on the prowl get hungry, but GOD-seekers are full of God.

The Passion Translation (Psalm 34)

1 Lord! I’m bursting with joy over what you’ve done for me! My lips are full of perpetual praise.

2 I’m boasting of you and all your works, so let all who are discouraged take heart.

3 Join me, everyone! Let’s praise the Lord together.Let’s make him famous! Let’s make his name glorious to all.

4 Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress

and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears!

5 Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come.Your faces will glisten with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again.

6 When I had nothing, desperate and defeated,I cried out to the Lord and he heard me, bringing his miracle-deliverance when I needed it most.

7 The angel of the Lord stooped down to listen as I prayed, encircling me, empowering me, and showing me how to escape. He will do this for everyone who fears God.

8 Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives to all who turn to hide themselves in him.

9 Worship in awe and wonder, all you who’ve been made holy! For all who fear him will feast with plenty.

10 Even the strong and the wealthy grow weak and hungry, but those who passionately pursue the Lord will never lack any good thing.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (To Whom Praise Is Offered)

To Whom Praise Is Offered. God is the single source of our praise. The one Lord who is God over all is alone worthy of praise. Frequently the OT stresses that the praise due him is not to be offered to other gods or to idols of any kind (e.g., Is 42:8). There is a place for the commendation of men and women for their qualities of life and their right actions (Prv 31:28–31; 1 Pt 2:14). Ultimately, however, they should seek the praise and commendation of God (Rom 2:29), not the praise of their fellows (Mt 6:1–6; Jn 12:43), that others may be led to glorify God for whatever good is found in them (Mt 5:16). Frequently the Bible speaks of praising “the name” of God (e.g., Ps 149:3), meaning that he is to be praised for all that he is and has revealed himself to be. The often repeated word “Hallelujah” is simply the Hebrew equivalent of “Praise the Lord.”

By Whom Praise Is Offered. God is praised perfectly by his angels in heaven (Ps 103:20; 148:2). They caroled their praise when Jesus was born (Lk 2:13, 14), and the Book of Revelation (e.g., 7:11, 12) speaks about their continual praise in heaven. All creation praises God in the sense that it shows his greatness as Creator (Ps 19:1–6). Psalm 148 lists sun, moon and stars, fire and hail, snow, rain, wind and weather, mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars, wild animals, cattle, snakes and birds, as praising God together. Heaven and earth are spoken of as involved in the praise of God (Ps 89:5; 96:11; 98:4). The Psalter closes with the words, “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” (Ps 150:6). In the OT we read of the special role of priests and Levites (Ps 135:19, 20) and of the temple singers (2 Chr 20:21) and of those who, like Miriam (Ex 15:20) and David (2 Sm 6:14), led others in God’s praise. But it was the duty of all God’s people to praise him and their praise was intended, moreover, to lead the gentile nations to know and to praise him (Ps 67:2, 3). The NT has this same emphasis (Rom 15:7–12) and it stresses that God’s gifts are given to his people to be used to his praise and glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). It is by a life of righteousness as well as by word of mouth that men are to praise him (Phil 1:11). The redeemed people of God are appointed to show forth the praises of him who has called them “out of the darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pt 2:9). The last book of the NT presents the praise of God in heaven where the four living creatures (representing all creation) and the 24 elders (representing the people of God under the old and new covenants) unite in worship, adoring the mighty God who created them and the Lamb of God who redeemed them (Rv 4; 5).

When God Is to Be Praised. In the OT there were times of special praise, sabbaths, new moons, and festivals. In Psalm 119:164 the psalmist says, “seven times a day I praise thee for thy righteous ordinances.” “From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised!” is the exhortation of Psalm 113:3. Psalm 145:1 says, “I will extol thee, my God and King, and bless thy name for ever and ever.” A dedication to a life of praise is expressed in Psalm 146:2: “I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being.” In the NT, likewise, there are special times of praise, but the whole of the Christian’s life is intended to be devoted, in word and action, to the praise of God.

Where Praise Is to Be Offered. In the OT the temple (and thus “Zion” or “Jerusalem” where the temple was located) had a special place in the purpose of God: his people should praise him there. Psalm 102:21 pictures people declaring “in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise.” People are to praise God publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation (Ps 107:32), but they may also do so alone. For the whole of life is to be praise. Thus praise can come from unexpected places. Godly men and women can “sing for joy on their couches” (Ps 149:5). Paul and Silas can sing praises to God in a Philippian prison (Acts 16:25).

How God Is to Be Praised. As there is no limit to time or place, so there is no limit to the ways in which God may be praised. He may be praised with singing (Ps 47:7), with dancing (Ps 149:3), or with instruments of music (Ps 144:9; 150:3–5). The Psalter provides us with many songs of praise and others are scattered throughout the OT. The NT speaks of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col 3:16; see also Eph 5:19) and examples of Christian songs of praise are probably to be seen in Ephesians 5:14; Philippians 2:6–11; 1 Timothy 1:17; and 2 Timothy 2:11–13.

Why God Is to Be Praised. Creation provides reason for the praise of God (Ps 8:3), as does his preserving love and care (Ps 21:4) and the fact that he is a prayer-answering God (Ps 116:1). His redeeming work leads his people to worship him (Ex 15:1, 2). Some of the psalms (e.g., 107) list many reasons why he should be praised. With the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ there is a fresh outburst of praise because the Messiah, the Savior, has come to his people (Lk 2:11). All that he did by his life, death, and resurrection calls for praise. But ultimately praise will be made perfect when in the end God is seen to reign victorious over all. Thus John speaks in the Book of Revelation (19:6) of hearing “what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying ‘Hallelujah!’ For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.”