Delighting in God's Glorious Majesty

A few years ago, My boys and I decided to climb a mountain in Alaska. Now, let me tell you, this wasn't my brightest idea. Even though I was in pretty good Iowa Shape, I was about as fit as a couch potato and as prepared as a penguin in the Sahara to climb a mountain. Im telling you, I discovered Muscles in my legs that no Flat land Iowan knew existed.

The climb was brutal. My feet blistered faster than popcorn in a microwave. And The heat - yes, heat in Alaska - had me sweating like a snowman in summer. Halfway up I was asking myself is this really worth it?

But I pressed on, huffing and puffing, with my legs screaming at me with every step.

Finally, after what felt like a century, We reached the peak of that mountain. And let me tell you, everything changed in that moment.

As I stood at the edge, gazing out at the vast expanse before me, I was utterly overwhelmed. The sheer magnitude, the intricate layers of rock, the play of light and shadow – it all took my breath away. Not that I had much breath left at that point!

In that moment, i remember how small I felt , yet profoundly connected to something greater than myself.

Words failed me, and all I could do was stand in awe, my heart swelling with wonder and praise.

All the struggle, all the pain, it all faded away in the face of such majesty.

Friends- this is what it means to truly encounter the glory of God.

When we truly glimpse His majesty, His Holiness, His power, His perfect Character His intricate design of the universe – how can we not be moved to praise?

How can we not find our delight in Him?

Our summer series in the Psalms has come to an end.

and I believe that there is no better way for us to wrap up this series than to look at the final Psalm in the Book

A work of poetry that wraps the entire book of Praise into just 6 verses

Turn with me in your Bible’s to Psalm 150.

In just six short verses, this psalm captures the essence of praise, calling us to delight in the glorious majesty of our God.

Let's read Psalm 150 together: But as we read, when we come to the Word Praise I want us to speak it out with enthusiams.

Lets Practice -

On the count of three lets all proclaim “ Praise the LORD”

1, 2,3

Stand with me as we read together the word of the Lord

Psalm 150 (ESV)

1 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!

Great Job Have a seat!

This Psalm begins and ends with the same phrase “PRAISE THE LORD!”.

The Hebrew word used here for Praise is HalU and the Hebrew word for LORD is YAHWAY. In this text the Psalmist uses the shortened form of the personal name of God Yahweh which is YA.

Does that sound like one of our english words of Praise ? Hallelujah

This is literally what this word means .

When We proclaim Hallelujah We are literally proclaiming “PRAISE THE LORD!

So this Psalm Begins and ends with the Proclamation “Hallelujah praise the Lord!”

Counting the phrase Hallelujah The word Praise is proclaimed 13 times in these 6 veres.

Over and over again the Psalmist encourages us to lift up the name of our LORD WITH PRAISE!

Today, i want us to consider four aspects of praise that we find in these 6 verses:

where we should praise the Lord?,

why we should praise Him?,

how we should praise Him?,

and who should praise Him?.

and Through it all, we'll see how praising God isn't just a duty – it's a delight, a natural response to being engulfed with His glorious majesty.

Let’s begin in veres one where the Psalmist speaks of …

I. Where should We Praise the Lord?

Look with me again at what it says

Psalm 150:1 (ESV)

1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!

This verse presents us with two dimensions of praise – earthly praise and heavenly praise .

First, we're called to praise God in His sanctuary.

The word Sanctuary means “ the dwelling place of God”

In ancient Israel, When the Psalmist wrote these words, this referred to the Temple, the physical place where God's presence dwelt among His people.

The Sanctuary was Where God’s people came to Worship Him.

For us today, The dwelling place of God is in the hearts and minds of every beleiver here on earth. this can represent our churches, our homes, or any place where believers gather together.

As Jesus said in Matthew 18:20

Matthew 18:20 (ESV)

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Friends, what the Psalmist is saying is that when we come together as the church of God We come together to praise His name. This means that we praise God in our churches, our homes, or any place where believers gather together.

But praising God isn't confined to these earthly gatherings.

As the Psalmist Says Praise Him in His Mighty Heavens,

Gods Praise expands into the celestial realm where angels and redeemed saints continually praise His name.

Remember the vision in Revelation 4:8, where the four living creatures never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

The key here, brothers and sisters, is to understand that there is no place where God's majesty is absent, and therefore, no place where praise is inappropriate.

Think about it - God's glory fills the entire universe!

As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed in Isaiah 6:3

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV)

3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

This means we can praise God anywhere and everywhere.

When we are gathered as the church singing with our voices as one- thats a place to praise

When you're driving to work, stuck in traffic - that's a place to praise!

When you're in the hospital waiting room, anxious about test results - that's a place to praise!

When you're on top of a mountain, marveling at God's creation - that's a place to praise!

When you're in the valley of despair, feeling alone and forgotten - even that is a place to praise!

The point is this: God's presence permeates every corner of creation, from the highest heavens to the depths of the earth. And where God's presence is, Our praise of Him should follow.

Where should we praise God? Everywhere and in every Moment!

Verse 2 gives us the reason for our praise:

II. Why Should we Praise the Lord?

Psalm 150:2 (ESV)

2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Our praise is a response to who God is and what He has done.

The Psalmist says “We praise God for His mighty deeds”

Think for a moment all that God has done that is worthy of Praise

He spoke and all things were created

He knit you together in your mothers womb

He offered Salvation to you despite your hatred of Him

He forgives all your sins

He Does all things for your good

And He pours out grace up Grace into your life!

As Psalm 145:4-6 beautifully puts it

Psalm 145:4–6 (NET)

4 One generation will praise your deeds to another, and tell about your mighty acts! 5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor, and your amazing deeds! 6 They will proclaim the power of your awesome acts! I will declare your great deeds!

Friends, We praise God because of what he has done in our lives!

We also praise God for His "surpassing greatness" –

We PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS GOD and there is none like Him in all of existence.

We praise Him for His character, His attributes, His very nature.

Over these last few weeks we have looked at

Gods Holiness,

His Faithfulness,

His Forgiveness,

His love,

His power,

His Perfection

and His unwavering love for Us.

We praise God Because He is perfect in all of His ways.

Isaiah 6:3 captures this when the seraphims call out,

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV)

3… “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

In Psalm 86:8-9

Psalm 86:8–9 (ESV)

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.

Church the reason we Sing “Hallelujah Praise the Lord” is because He alone is worthy of our Praise-

But Psalm 150 doesn't stop there. It goes on to describe a vibrant, multifaceted expression of our Praise of God

Brothers and sisters, as we look at verses 3-5 of Psalm 150, we're confronted with an incredible truth: the praise of God is too great, too magnificent for mere human voices to do it justice.

Listen to how the psalmist describes it:

III. How should we Praise the Lord?

Psalm 150:3–5 (ESV)

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!

Do you hear the crescendo building in these verses?

It's as if the psalmist is saying,Our God is so great “"We need more Praise We need More worship! We need more things to join in our praise of our great God!" Because He is worth it!

Church family, Our praise should engage not just our voices, but the full expression of human energy and devotion.

Praising God is not meant to be a solum time of reflection it is a time of lifting up the infinite glory of a glorious God.

Think about it.

The God we worship spoke the universe into existence.

He set the stars in the sky and knows them all by name.

He formed the mountains and poured out the seas.

How could we ever think that a simple "Hallelujah" would be enough to praise His mighty Name?

No, our God deserves a symphony of praise!

He deserves the blast of trumpets that shake the walls.

He deserves the sweet melodies of harps and lyres that stir the soul.

He deserves the rhythm of tambourines that get our feet moving.

He deserves the clash of cymbals that wake the nations.

And frankly, it's not just about instruments.

Notice that dancing is mentioned here too. Our praise should involve our whole bodies, our entire beings.

As King David demonstrated when he danced before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14), sometimes our praise needs to be physically expressed.

But here's the incredible thing, church:

even with all of this - even if we gathered every instrument on earth, even if we danced until we couldn't stand and longer, even if we sang until our voices gave out - we could never out-worship the One we are worshipping.

You see, the main point The Psalmist is proclaiming is that it isn't about the specific instruments or methods a church needs to worship well, It's about the attitude of our hearts and the totality of our devotion to the one we are worshipping.

It's about recognizing that our God is so glorious, so majestic, that no matter how extravagant our praise becomes, it will always fall short of what He truly deserves as the One True God!

and This should be liberating for us!

It means we don't have to worry about whether we're "doing it right or that it is enough"

Instead, we're free to pour out our praise in whatever way we can, knowing that God delights in the praises of His people.

So, let's not hold back in our praise! Let's use every gift, every talent, every ounce of energy we have to worship our incredible God

Simply Church, we are called to Praise a praise worthy God with everything we are and everything We have!

Brothers and sisters, we come now to the climax of Psalm 150, and indeed, the entire book of Psalms.

Verse 6 declares: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." PRAISE THE LORD

IV. Who Should Praise the Lord? (verse 6)

Psalm 150:6 (ESV)

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

The psalm concludes with a resounding call for all creation to praise the Lord!:

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Let those words sink in for a moment. Everything that has breath.

This is a universal call to praise that leaves no one out.

It's not limited by age, gender, race, social status, or even species.

If you're breathing, you're called to praise!

Think about the profound simplicity of this statement.

The psalmist doesn't say, "Let everything that has talent praise the Lord,"

or "Let everything that has wealth praise the Lord,"

or even "Let everything that has faith praise the Lord."

No, the only qualification given is the gift of breath.

Why breath? Because breath is the most basic sign of life.

In Genesis 2:7, we read ,

Genesis 2:7 (ESV)

7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Every breath we take is a gift from God, a moment-by-moment sustaining of our very existence.

This means that praise isn't just for the "spiritual elite" or those who feel particularly close to God.

It's for everyone.

It's for the newborn baby taking its first breath.

It's for the elderly person drawing their last.

It's for the saint and the sinner, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak.

So what should our response be to this call?

The psalm gives us the answer: "Praise the Lord!" Or in Hebrew, "Hallelujah!"

"Hallelujah" is more than just a word; it's a way of life. It's our ultimate response to who God is and what He has done.

Friends, When we truly grasp the majesty of God, when we comprehend even a fraction of His glory and grace, "Hallelujah" becomes our instinctive cry.

Think about it:

When we marvel at God's power in creation - Hallelujah!

When we remember His faithfulness throughout history - Hallelujah!

When we experience His love and forgiveness - Hallelujah!

When we receive His comfort in our sorrows - Hallelujah!

When we witness His ongoing work in our lives and in the world - Hallelujah!

When He saves a lost sinner from the pit of hell- Hallelujah!

Brothers and sisters, let this truth permeate your being: if you have breath, you should praise the Lord.

Your very existence is a reason for praise.

and Your continued breath is an opportunity for praise.

So let's join with all creation in this cosmic chorus of praise towards our creator.

Let's unite our voices with the angels in heaven and the redeemed saints of all ages.

Let's align our hearts with every living creature, fulfilling the vision of Revelation 5:13: which proclaims

Revelation 5:13 (ESV)

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah!

BRING IT HOME

Brothers and sisters, our God is worthy of all praise - from every place, for every reason, in every way, and from every living being.

As long as we have breath, let us use it to delight in His glorious majesty, allowing our praise to overflow from hearts captivated by His greatness.

May "Hallelujah" be the anthem of our lives. As we live for His glory and Praise!