Praise the Lord

What are things that we praise God for?

Why do we praise God? Scripture treats praise as the natural response of believers to God’s person and actions.

What does praise mean? Praise is a part of worship! In worship human beings recognize God for his attributes and express this through adoration, praise, thanksgiving, service, and living holy lives. Worship constitutes the primary calling of humans.

Praise is response to God’s actions and works in our lives! In the study of the teachings of God’s Word, it should not surprise us if we often find our hearts spontaneously breaking forth in expressions of praise and delight like those of the psalmist.

We find Paul as he is thinking back on the Israelites failure to acknowledge Jesus, yet God still is giving them a chance. He has not completely rejected them. Not only does He still offer His chosen a chance of salvation, He also has given us the offer of salvation also. In thinking of the greatness of God’s salvation blessings to both the Jew and the Gentile he praises the Lord!

Romans 11:33 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Even our founding fathers had a way of offering their own praise to God in the building of key buildings. Some of the most important monuments, buildings, and landmarks in Washington, D.C., include religious words, symbols, and imagery. In the United States Capitol the declaration “In God We Trust” is prominently displayed in both the United States House and Senate Chambers.

Around the top of the walls in the House Chamber, who make federal law, appear images of 23 great lawgivers from across the centuries, but Moses (the lawgiver, who– according to the Bible – originally received the law of God,) is the only lawgiver honored with a full face view, looking down on the proceedings of the House. Religious artwork is found throughout the United States Capitol, including in the Rotunda where the prayer service of Christopher Columbus, the Baptism of Pocahontas, and the prayer and Bible study of the Pilgrims are all prominently displayed; in the Cox Corridor of the Capitol where the words “America! God shed His grace on thee” are inscribed; at the east Senate entrance with the words “Annuit Coeptis” – Latin for “God has favored our undertakings”; and in numerous other locations. Images of the Ten Commandments are found in many federal buildings across Washington, D. C., including in bronze in the floor of the National Archives; in a bronze statue of Moses in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress; in numerous locations at the U. S. Supreme Court, including in the frieze above the Justices, the oak door at the rear of the Chamber, the gable apex, and in dozens of locations on the bronze latticework surrounding the Supreme Court Bar seating. In the Washington Monument not only are numerous Bible verses and religious acknowledgements carved on memorial blocks in the walls, including the phrases: “Holiness to the Lord”, “Search the Scriptures”, “The memory of the just is blessed”, “May Heaven to this Union continue its beneficence,” and “In God We Trust”, but the Latin inscription Laus Deo – “Praise be to God” – is engraved on the monument’s capstone. Of the five areas inside the Jefferson Memorial into which Jefferson’s words have been carved, four are God-centered, including Jefferson’s declaration that “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” The Lincoln Memorial contains numerous acknowledgments of God and citations of Bible verses, including the declarations that “we here highly resolve that . . . this nation under God . . . shall not perish from the earth”; “The Almighty has His own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh’”; “as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether’”; “one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh see it together” (Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, based on Isaiah 40:4-5). In the Library of Congress, The Giant Bible of Mainz and The Gutenberg Bible are on prominent permanent display and etched on the walls are Bible verses, including “The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not” (John 1:5); “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom and with all thy getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7); “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8); and “The heavens declare the Glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

If even our forefathers could find ways to praise the Lord, then shouldn’t we also!

Praise Him With Our Soul

Psalm 146:1–2 ESV

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

All we have, all we are, all we will ever be comes from God. While many of us try to be as self-sufficient, there comes a time where we realize we cannot rely solely on ourselves. We can trust in the Lord in all our ups and our downs, and THAT is reason to give Him praise!

The first words in this Psalm are Halal Yah - Hallelujah - Praise the Lord! We should all wake up praising the Lord simply because God allows us to live another day. The psalmist is stirred to praise, praising God with every ounce of his being! Thinking of what God had done in his life, he made the conscious decision that he would commit himself to praising the Lord as long as he lived. Praising God until he drew his last breath!

For the believer, Praising the LORD should be the natural instinct of our souls. When we fully grasp who God is and how much He loves us, we cannot contain our praise. Our souls fill with love, and gratitude toward God until we burst into praise. Difficult circumstances cannot quench our passion for God. Forced, half-hearted efforts do not suffice. From that point on, a lifetime is not long enough to express our deepest devotion to Him. We long to fulfill the purpose for which God created us—to glorify Him forever.

Trust the Lord

Psalm 146:3–4 ESV

3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

People will let us down. It doesn’t matter how good of friend they are, there are times when we will be let down. We cannot place our sole trust in people.

Even though our founding fathers placed biblical references and scriptures in the federal buildings and monuments, we absolutely know we cannot put our trust in politicians. The prince used here is influential leaders. No person, regardless of their influence, is worthy of our absolute confidence.

Why? Because they are human just like us. Sinful humankind. Therefore, there is no eternal salvation they can offer us. The psalmist reminds us that mortal man passes away and returns to the ground. No human can help us past this life, therefore we have to place our trust in the one who has the power to save us for all eternity. Now that is worthy of praise!

God Alone is Worthy of Praise

Psalm 146:5–9 ESV

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

In contrast, the Lord is worthy of our trust and our praise! The psalmist reminds us that our blessings and our hope come from the one, the only, the TRUE God! The only people who can be truly happy or blessed are those who turn to the Lord for help. How do we know He is trustworthy? He made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything, and will keep His promises. As we look through scripture, we find ALL of God’s promises have come true. He IS the only one absolutely trustworthy. He will never leave us, He will never fail us. He is the ONLY one we can fully trust because He IS truth.

We serve an eternal, all powerful, trustworthy God who loves the ones in whom He created. Notice what He does for those who follow Him:

Does justice for the oppressed

Gives food to the hungry

Sets prisoners free (physically and spiritually)

Opens the eyes of the blind (physically and spiritually)

Raises up those who are bowed down with heavy burdens

Loves the righteous

Keeps the sojourners

Helps the orphans and the widows

Bends the way of the wicked so they cannot prevail against His people

Too often, we are guilty of trusting our own wisdom and strength or other human resources instead of trusting the LORD. God and God alone is completely trustworthy. He is able to do what we and others cannot do. We can depend on Him for every need. Even the best people will occasionally fail or let us down, but the LORD will never fail us.

And THAT, my friend, is reason to praise the Lord!

Praise God!

Psalm 146:10 ESV

10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

The psalmist closed this song with a strong and comforting declaration about the LORD. First, the LORD is faithful and He keeps His covenant, the wonderful promises He has given His people. His people know Him, and they can trust in Him. Second, the LORD reigns forever, throughout all generations. The world and the wicked will always rise up against God’s people, but they will not prevail. The LORD is on His throne, and the Creator of heaven and earth will reign throughout eternity.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Conclusion

Pastor and professor Donald M. Williams gives an excellent synopsis of these verses:

We are faced with only two alternatives in life, either to trust men (including ourselves) or to trust God. Most people, when they are really honest, admit that they spend most of their time trusting men. They trust politicians to run the country. They trust news commentators to tell them what’s going on in the world. They trust professors to educate them. They trust doctors to diagnose them, and they trust pastors and priests to care for their souls. Here is where we make our investments. We put our faith, time, money, and energy into what people say. Most of us would admit that we do not really pray over decisions. We do not expect God to run our lives day to day. Nevertheless, the psalmist clearly tells us that we are foolish to continue this.… As we look to men, even great spiritual leaders, we need to ask one question: “Can this person save me?” This question places [every human being] into perspective.

This should encourage us to trust in God, the one who sustains us, provides for us, encourages us, and most importantly SAVES US and will set up an eternal place to dwell with Him in heaven.