Sing Praise to the Lord

Psalm 138

A call to praise…

Mans chief work is the praise of God.

Augustine of Hippo

God deserves every imaginable praise from his creatures, whether heathens or Christians, and the more men praise him the greater will be their happiness.

Charles Simeon

Praising God is one of the highest and purest acts of religion. In prayer we act like men; in praise we act like angels.

Thomas Watson

Lessons from Psalm 138

The Posture of Praise

Before the gods

Trouble with interpretationTrouble with interpretation

Elohim - gods - plural - this is the first name given to God - Gen. 1:1.

Options - what would this mean?

God - I will praise you, O God, before God… doesn’t make sense.

gods/idols: Like Paul preaching before the statues to the gods in Athens - testifying to the lie of idolatry and the truth of the one true, living God

angels (Ps 8:5) you have made him a little lower than the gods (angels) in the courts of God

Praise is a public act - Praise is an outward act.

In 2010 - Obama admin - talking about freedom of religion as the “right to worship” - do what you please in your house of worship, but keep it there.

Praise cannot be contained, it spills out into everything we do. We sing God’s praise in worship; we work to the best of our ability, as unto the Lord, for God’s praise; we live in a way that would bring praise God as the world sees a difference in us; we are called to Praise God before the powers of the world.

Toward the temple

The temple was the place God put his name, and promised to meet his people.

The Israelites looked to the Altar, to the Tabernacle, to the Temple, directing their praise to God.

Does the church not do the same. We don’t face toward Jerusalem - but we look to the place where God has promised to meet us, in the person of Christ.

Hebrews 12 - we do not come to what may be touched… we come to mount Zion, to the city of living God, the heavenly Jerusalem - to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant.

Rev 4 & 5 we come to the throne of God and of the lamb our worship is directed to God, through Christ our mediator.

Humble - Under his exalted word and name

God exalts above all things his name and his word (vs 2)

He has put up his word as a light for us

God exalts his own Word, because it is only through his Word that we can come to know who God is, who we are, and how we are to live in praise before him.

He has given us a name that is above all names

God has exalted His name, the name of Jesus, above every other name, because there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

We come before him humbly

Calvin - The chief praise of Christians is self-renunciation.

1 Peter 5:5-6 Humble yourselves, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble…

He makes bold my soul -

The grace of God allows us to come with confidence before the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16)

The Panoply of Praise

All the kings

The eschatology of the psalms

This was not realized in David’s day, some kings came, more during Solomon’s reign, but after that, the nation diminished. This promise pointed to later fulfillment.

The picture in Revelation

Rev 11:15 The kingdom of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.

Rev 21:24 - the new Jerusalem - all the nations will walk by the light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the city…

They will sing of the ways of the Lord because they have heard the word.

We are called to be missionaries - to proclaim the word of God. Our worship is to proclaim the word of God and the goodness of God to the world

Worship is all about confessing God’s glory, and thanking God for what he has done - its not about us, but we still receive the benefit of worship

If you want to praise the Lord Jesus Christ, tell the people about him. Take of the things of Christ, and show them to the people, and you will glorify Christ.

Charles Spurgeon

The Perseverance of Praise

Though I Walk in the midst of trouble - sounds like Psalm 23. You (God) preserve my life… your right hand delivers me

We persevere by grace in praise

God will fulfill his purpose for our lives

Phil 1:6 He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion

Rom 8:28 we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…

He will not forsake his work

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to its foes; that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake.

A life of praise

Praise should be new default of the grace-filled life.

Is praise your response?

It cannot be forced - to develop praise, meditate on grace

Think of the ways God has poured out his grace and mercy

Think of the steadfast love and faithfulness of God

Delight in praising God, let his praises be on your lips at all times

Aunt Jane - “Praise Jesus”

Praise is a missionary endeavor.

Does our praise reach the nations?

Are you freely praising God among the peoples? Would the world know the word of God by watching your life, by listening to what you say, will they sing of the glory of God because they saw his goodness in you?

Praise brings us through trials.

In the midst of the storm - praise him!

Though you may not see it in full, you can trust in the steadfast love of the Lord.

Geerhardus Vos, ‘The reason God will never stop loving you is that he never began.’ Vos was reflecting on Jeremiah 31:3, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.’ His love and grace are eternal - no beginning, no end - there is no beginning to God’s love, and there is no end.

Charles Spurgeon It is a good thing to praise Christ in the presence of his friends. It is sometimes a better thing to extol him in the presence of his enemies. It is a great thing to praise Jesus Christ by day, but there is no music sweeter than the nightingale’s, and she praises God by night. It is well to praise the Lord for his mercy when you are in health, but make sure that you do it when you are sick, for then your praise is more likely to be genuine. When you are deep down in sorrow, do not rob God of the gratitude that is due to him. Never stint him of his revenue of praise whatever else goes short.