A Call To Praise

Introduction:

As we continue with our Worship of the Lord this morning and turn to His word, I invite you to grab a Bible and turn with me to Psalm 150 as we close out our series on Summer in the Psalms today.

We started our series by looking at Psalm 1. And if you remember, Psalm 1 deals with how to live a blessed and happy life. It wasn’t in the things of this world, it wasn’t by pursuing what other people are chasing after, but it was by delighting one’s self in the Word of God. That is how to live a happy and blessed life. You let the Word of dbecome the very thing that you want and desire. When you do that, when the Word is your delight and you are walking in obedience to the Word, then you are able to bear fruit.

Isn’t that what we want in life? We want to live a happy, successful life. Our problem is though, we often don’t know what that means. Psalm 1 spelled it out for us, to live a happy, successful life is to live life in light of God’s Word. Really in a lot of ways, Psalm 1 sets the stage for the book of the Psalms. In that Psalm, we are directed to God’s word as our foundation. Some have even suggested that this Psalm was the Psalm that people would sing as they would come into the temple for Worship, as it has as if focus on the Word of God.

That is where we have to start if we are going to understand the Psalms. We have to understand that our focus has to be on the Word of God above everything else because our thoughts, feelings, and our perceptions, will all lie to us. We know that we are going to face things in this life that we do not quite understand. We are going to go through periods and seasons of life that are really hard for us. And it is in those moments, we need some direction as to what we are to do. And on the other side of this, we are going to go through some seasons of life that are good. And we do not want to lose sight of God in those times either.

Here is what I know, both in the good and bad times, it is really easy for us to take our eyes off of God. We lose sight of Him so quickly. That is probably why he calls us Sheep. We don’t always do what is best for us. And this is why the Psalms can be so helpful for us. They are like Balm to the soul. They shape and mold us as we try to seek after Christ… but that only happens if the Word of God is the foundation for all of life.

That is why we started there with Psalm 1. We have to get this foundation. But this only hit the tip of the iceberg, right? What we began to see in the Word, was not only do we often not know what we really want, but God has given us emotions that we don’t know how to really deal with. So, we began looking through the book of Psalms and picking out different ones and just simply asking, “What does this teach me about submission to God, or depression, or anger, or feeling overlooked, or confession of Sin, or how to pass the Word onto the next generation. We covered a lot of different things in this series, and in no way did we cover everything in the book of Psalms. But, my hope and desire for all of us, would be that all of us could walk away with a better understanding of how to read the book of Psalms, how to deal with some of the difficulties that we see in them at times, and that when we are going through a difficult time, we would run back to them to allow them to shape our hearts and minds.

My desire for us as a Church is that we would be able to read our Bibles better. That is the goal of discipleship is it not? Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:18-20 with the great commission go and make Disciples. Part of that discipleship process is “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” That is what I want to do in our time together on Sunday mornings. I don’t want to teach you everything that Jesus commanded, but I want to teach you in such a way that you are equipped to read the Word of God and know how to apply it to your life to bring about obedience to the Word. That is what Jesus calls us ALL to when it comes to discipleship. We are not simply gathering together to hear a message and go home. We want to gather together to be changed by the Word and to be equipped to feed ourselves throughout the week.

Body:

This is what the Word of God is directing us to, a lifelong process of change. We never get out of this process while we are still breathing here. Our hearts are always in need of a tune-up, and that only happens when we Read the Word, Study the Word, and then Apply the Word.

With that being said, let’s dive into God’s Word this morning together as we cover the last Psalm in the book of Psalms, Psalm 150. Before we read it, I want to say really quick, just as Psalm 1 is believed to be the Psalm the people would sing as they came into the temple for worship, Psalm 150 is the Psalm that they would sing as they left the building. I want you to keep that in mind as we look at this Psalm together.

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! ( Ps 150:1–6).

Does anyone want to take a guess on what the main point of this Psalm is?

Main Point: We are to Praise the Lord!!!!

That one isn’t that hard is it? It says it over and over and over again. 13 different times in the Psalm we are commanded to Praise the Lord.

Now, I know that we have looked at this concept already in our study of the Psalms, but I think it is helpful for us to come back to this idea as the book closes out because it reminds of us of what is most important. Yes, there are going to be times of great difficulty in this life. We live in a broken world. Things do not always work out the way that we want them to. Yes, you are going to sin against the Lord and you are going to have to come before Him in confession of sin. Yes, you are going to get angry at God over some things in this life. You don’t have to be shy about those things but with your focus on the Word of God.. it being your delight… as we take these things to the Lord, we are reminded at the end of the day we are creatures who are commanded to come and worship before the Creator.

In a very real sense, when we come into the Lord’s presence, we should be reminded that we are to leave in worship. Worship is not something that just takes place inside these walls; worship is to go with us wherever we go!

But as we think about this Pslam, I want to walk through this text together so that the Word of God can frame our understanding of Worship.

The first thing I want us to see is that the Psalm begins and ends with the Word “Hallelujah” Now, I know that the ESV translates this for us, which really is how translations are supposed to work, by saying “Praise the Lord.” But the word behind that Phrase at the beginning and end of this Psalm is the Hebrew Word, “Hallelujah”

How many of you have said this word? How many of you have heard someone else use this word? It is a common expression, but what does mean?

As the ESV points out, The Word “Hallelujah” Literally means, Praise The Lord, or Praise be to Yahweh. “Hallelujah” is actually a combination of two Hebrew words. The first word Hallel- which means praise…and this is the word that is used throughout this Psalm. The second word is the Hebrew word Yahweh....which is God’s name. God is the great I am. We first here Yahweh used when Moses is out in the wilderness and he is tending his flock and he looks up and sees a burning bush in the distance, so he goes over to check it out. And it is from this burning bush that God calls out to him and tells him that he is going to deliver His people. In this conversation, Moses asks him His name, and the Lord replies… I am who I am- or Yahweh. This is the sacred name of the Lord our God. So this call of praise is not some small matter for the Jewish people. This was a call of worship to the One True God. The God who revealed Himself to their people. The God we saved them from Egypt.

But this is so much more than just some simple phrase. What I want us to see is, that it is more than just an expression of giving praise to God, it is actually a command for the people to give praise to God. When someone says, “Hallelujah” you are not only expressing praise to God, but you are stating a command for others to praise God too. It is a call or a summons to Praise.

So, get this picture in your mind, the worship leader of the Temple, as the people are getting ready to leave and go home, he calls them, he commands them, to give praise to God. So, they come in the temple focused on the Word as they sang Pslam 1, but they left with a sense of worship to God as the sang Psalm 150.

This is what we need to see. These two things are not at odds with each other. Focusing on the Word should lead us to worship God. This is why I start most of my messages with “As we continue with our Worship of the Lord” before we study the Word together. I want us to see that everything that we do is to be done in worship of the Lord.

Not only that, we also have to see that we don’t only gather together to worship, but the worship that we experience here we should take with us as we leave. Does that make sense?

What would the world look like, if every Sunday, when Christians left, they left with a Spirit of Worship to God? Maybe those who work on Sunday’s wouldn’t dread the “Sunday” crowd. Maybe, just maybe, they would be excited about them coming because they noticed something different about them.

Notice, in this Psalm, that is exactly the direction the Psalmist takes. The Psalmist starts by giving us locations of Praise. (Where is God to be Praised?)

Praise God in His Sanctuary. Praise God in the temple. We know that God does not dwell in temples made by human hands. We get that. But we have to see the principal that is playing out here. The People of God Gather Together To Worship God. It is that simple. The Church gathers together, every week, in this building to come together to Worship God. That is where our focus needs to be. That means, everything that we do, from our Nursery, Sunday School programs, our singing, tithing, fellowshipping, preaching, all of it needs to be directed to God in worship. We don’t gather here for us. I honestly think that one of the deserves that we have done has been calling our gathering “Worship Services” because I think, and I could be wrong here, but I think that we naturally think we are coming here for some service when we come here, And that is not the point. We are coming here in service of our Great God. We are gathering here to give Him praise and worship. We want to meet with HIM. So everything we do should be done toward that end.

But it is not only in the sanctuary that God is to be praised. The verse continues. Praise Him in His Mighty Heavens. It is not only us who are to praise God, the Psalmist is calling on the heavenly host to praise Him as well. Worship is not confined to one location. God is worthy of all Praise from All places.

When you put these two together, temple and heavens, we get this picture of God is to be praised Everywhere. Both here on the earth and in the heavens, God is worthy to be praised.

But why? For what reason is God to be praised? Well, in one sense, the whole book of Psalms makes this argument as to why God is to be praised. But, the Psalmist still gives two very general reasons as to why God is to be praised. Look at verse 2 with me.

(Why Should We Praise God?)

God is to be praised for His mighty deeds. This deals with the great things that God has done for the people of Israel. Think about their past. What has God done for them? How about calling them as a Nation for one? Revealing Himself to them. Saving them from slavery in Egypt. Walking with them through the desert for 40 years. Not destroying them completely when they rebelled against Him. Being faithful to His promises about the Promised Land. Walking with them through their rebellion and bringing them back after being exiled to Babylon. All of those things are the mighty acts of God, and all of those things should serve as a foundation of Praise to God.

The apostle Paul would even say this about his own people and God’s dealings with them. Listen to these words from Romans 9:4–5“They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”

This is a summary of God’s mighty act. Read through the Old Testament and see what Great things the Lord has done. He is worthy of Praise for what He has done.

But it isn’t just what God has done, our worship should be founded upon who He is. This is where the Psalmist turns next. Look at the words there in verses 2, Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! God is to be Praised for His Character. It just isn’t about what God has done for me. It cannot all be about the mighty acts God has done for me, because let's face it sometimes we go through stuff that does not seem like mighty acts, if you know what I am saying. It is in those times that we need to remember who God is and worship Him based on who we know Him to be. This is where we place our hope and trust in His character and attributes. This is where we dwell on God’s goodness, faithfulness, trustworthiness, righteousness, holiness, justice, loving-kindness, etc. This is where we dwell on all of those characteristics that make God, God. And our response needs that we just take a step back and praise Him for Him being Him. Focus our hearts on the truths of His word, no matter what we are going through, and preach the truth of God’s character to our souls. That is what we are being commanded to do here.

We have looked at where God is to be praised, Why God is to be praised, and now the Psalm closes with Who is to be doing the praising?

Look at verses 3-6 with me.

3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Ps 150:3–6.

At first, these verses seem like just a jumbled list of musical instruments and expressions. However, there is more going on here than meets the eye. As one commentator pointed out, “These instruments include those ‘that would be played by the priests (the horn), by Levites (harp, lyre, cymbals) and laypeople (tambourine, strings, pipe)”. Thus, what we are looking at is a call to everyone…. everyone is to praise God.

Everyone is to Praise God! It is not restricted to one group of people. It is not only the worship band that praises God, although they should certainly have their focus there when they are leading worship. It is just not the deacons or the Pastors. Everyone, from those on stage leading the service to those in the pews, to put in our context, is to be engaged in praising God.

That point is made explicit in verse 6 when the Psalmist calls out, “Let everything that breaths praise the Lord.” No one or nothing is left outside of that command. If you are breathing, then you have the responsibility to praise God.

Notice what is missing in this Psalm, we don’t have an excuse or exception clause present. We don’t get to say….well….you know what….I don’t feel like praising God today so I’m not going to. Now, there are going to be times when that is the case for us for sure. But that is when we run to God the most and we be honest with Him about those feelings and we trust in His goodness. That is what we have seen all throughout the Psalms. You and I are to Praise God. No exception. You and I are to direct our hearts to Him and focus on Him for what He has done and who He is. We are to Praise Him no matter where we are. It doesn’t matter in this building or out in the classroom, store, friend’s house, restaurant, anywhere and everywhere we are to praise God.

Conclusion:

How Does This Apply To Us As Christians?

I think if we are honest we need to ask this question because we don’t have a sanctuary that we go to. We don’t offer praise and worship the way that the people in the Old Testament did. We are not commanded to go to the temple, for example. So, how do we apply this verse to us? I am going to give us a few ways that the New Testament speaks to this for us this morning.

The first one comes from John 4. In the Gospel of John Jesus is walking and doing ministry with the Disciples and the text says that Jesus has to go through Samaria. As he was passing through he came to a town called Sychar. When Jesus was there he started talking to this woman who came out at the hottest part of the Day. As he engaged in conversation with her, the location of worship became a hot-button issue because the Jews said the temple was the place of Worship but they said that worship was to be done on the mountain. Which is correct?

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

John 4- Worship is not about a place but rather through a person- Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3-14- We are to praise God for our Redemption in Christ.

Romans 12:1-3- We worship God by living our lives for Him.

For Christians, for those who have placed their faith and trust in Christ, we have reason to praise the Lord today. He has redeemed us. He has set us free from the bonage of sin and death. He has taken away our shame and guilt. He has made us New! He is working all things together for our good…even the things that we feel like are going to crush us. He is going to use for our good. Christ has died for you and saved you, what else can you ask for this morning? He has given you eternal life.

For those in this room who have not trusted in Christ as your savior, let me tell you real quick about what He has done and offers you. All of us our sinners by nature and by choice. We have all done wrong before the Lord. We have all rebelled against God. We have sinned. Because of our sin, we deserve the wrath of God. We deserve Hell. But, because of who God is, He made a way for you to be forgiven, washed cleaned, adopted into His family, and to have eternal life. Jesus Christ came 2000 years ago and lived the life that we should have lived but didn’t, and He died that death you and I deserved to die. Jesus took the wrath of God for you and for me, and for all who will call on Him. Jesus died in our place and rose again three days later defeating sin and death for humanity. He now commands you to repent of your sins and trust in Him for your salvation. When you do that, you are giving a relationship with Him and a New heart that desires what He desires for you. He sets you on a life long journey of walking with Him.

If you have not given your heart to Christ, I implore you to do so today. This text about praising God means nothing if you are not in a right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. It is only through the person Jesus Christ that we get welcomed into the presence of God. GIve you heart to Him this morning.

I want to end the service a little differently today. So, Kids and Adults, listen to me because I want you to think about this for a moment, what are some reasons why you can give praise to God? How can you praise Him while you are not here?

Also, we are going to close with two different songs this morning. As we get ready to sing, I just want you to focus your heart on God and we sing together. And listen to me, if there is anyone here who needs to give their heart to Christ, I welcome you to come today to receive Him as savior. You do not need to wait. As the Bible says, today is the day of salvation. And if you are a believer and you just want to come up here and pray, I encourage you to do so. Let’s Praise the Lord together.