Praise The Lord
Notes
Transcript
I remember a lot about my early years of going to FBC Buffalo Gap…
- I remember always beginning the service with Brother Steve our pastor reminding us that “Today is the day that the Lord has made, and we shall rejoice and be glad.”
- I remember Brother Steve ending to his sermons predictable way…
- I also remember our music minister, Don Lewis… would end with a doxology as we held hands as a church congregation across the isles…
It’s such a sweet memory…
And it’s a memory that looking back… really helped our church end each service with this understanding that no matter what is going on amongst our church family… that we are there together with the main purpose of PRAISING THE TRUINE GOD.
As we arrive to PSALM 150… it is said that this PSALM IS THE GRAND DOXOLOGY of the whole book of PSALMS…
This is the exclamation point ending to what has been such a blessing of a book that the Lord has given us through His providence.
The 5 W’s & 1 H
The 5 Ws, also known as the five Ws and one H, are a set of questions used to gather information and ensure a comprehensive understanding of a topic. They are Who, What, When, Where, and Why, and are often supplemented by "How". These questions are fundamental in journalism, research, and various other fields for ensuring complete and clear communication.
This can be very helpful in our hermeneutic and pursuit of rightly interpreting the text.
Here, within this Psalms structure… the writer helps us out a lot by giving us the
WHAT, WHERE, WHY, HOW, WHO of PRAISE
The WHAT of the passage is a pretty easy one to get.
The passage begins and ends with the
Plural imperative (command aimed at multiple people) joined with the abbreviation of the personal covenant name (YAHWEH) haləlû yāh (cf. Ps 146:1).
This call to “praise Yah,”
GOD >>> IS THE ONLY FOCUS OF THE WRITER’S PRAISE.
He wants to make sure out of the gate that we know… thatTo allow our focus on anything else in our praise is treason against a holy and just God.
I’m sure, if you’re like me… you begin to ask questions after you have been given a command… I want to be informed of what I’m supposed to do… but also WHERE, am I supposed to do this?
WHERE V. 1
WHERE V. 1
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
IN HIS SANCTUARY- The earthly temple is in view here, especially when considering for all kinds of earthly elements to the praise in the Psalm.
The people of God were called to come to God’s temple, to join voices in praise GOD.
4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
David appointed these men to have the sole responsibility to PRAISE YAHWEH and to be in charge of temple sacrifices and worship.
Several Psalms points God’s people toward praising God in his temple…
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord, 2 who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
The people of God are called to PRAISE HIM IN HIS SANCTUARY.
IN HIS MIGHTY HEAVENS - (mighty expanse)
V. 1b: Literally means “in the firmament of his power”, referring to the heavenly arena, skies - Expanse)
Several Psalms calls upon the heavens to Praise God, Psalm 148, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 69:34.
WE ALSO SEE THE THEME PLAY OUT WITHIN THE NT
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
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!”
And so, we see a call here as worshipers: those meeting as His chosen people as well as all of the heavenly host to bring together our praises.
This is a call for earth and heaven to be one in our worship and praise of God>>> for it to fill the UNIVERSE.
This verse is really a one sentence statement of what was already expanded upon in Psalm 148,
“PRAISE THE LORD FROM THE HEAVENS”, (angels, host, moon stars from the waters above the heavens)
“PRAISE HIM FROM THE EARTH” (sea creatures, fire and hail, snow and midst, mountains, fruit trees, beast, all peoples…),”
“LET THEM PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD.”
The very beginning of this Psalm and the very end of this Psalm call on everyone and everything to praise God no matter where we may be.
In church services across the world, whether in big cathedrals or in small home churches.
While we’re in the safety of our home, at the dinner table, in the car, in the shower ( I”M SURE we have some good shower performers here. )
while we’re in prison like Paul and Silas,
while we’re in the freedom of America,
or whether we’re in the midst of the persecuted church in China
while we’re in the still of the night
and while we’re in the light of day.
While we’re in the dark of despair,
and while we’re in the joy of common grace.
We are called to praise God in all of these places in which HIS GREATNESS AND GLORY FILL.
TRANSITION STATEMENT: PRAISE GOD… because we have a plethora of reasons to support our understanding of why we should PRAISE GOD.
God is not a God where we have to check our brains at the door before we seek to obey and praise Him.
No, we get to PRAISE HIM not just out of PRIMARY FUNCTION… but out of UTMOST DESIRE >>>>>because of our knowledge of who He is and what He has done.
WHY (V. 2)
WHY (V. 2)
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
It is by His steadfast love that He has exemplified these mighty deeds and greatness.
Within His relationship with HIs people, He is the most stable presence in all of existence that you can think of to direct your attention, your reverence, your praise to.
WE KNOW THIS BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE AND WHAT HE HAS REVEALED…
mighty work of creation
His sovereign reign over all He has made
Great acts of salvation throughout all of history…
STORIES LIKE
Exodus from Egypt
Conquest of the promised land
expansion of the Davidic Kingdom
The deliverance of the Israelites from Babylon and the restoration of the nation
HE HAS SHOWN.
He is not one to act on a whim…
He is not swayed by emotion…
e acts according to who He is… which is HOLY AND JUST, HE has constantly SHOWN HIS OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE, OMNIPRESENCE…
He is not impulsive, unpredictable, or even unmotivated.
HE ACTS ACCORDING TO HIS SOVEREIGN PLAN.
For us as His redeemed church…
The the NT we can’t help but think of
the miracles of Jesus
His teachings
The Cross & the empty tomb
The gift of the Holy Spirit
The explosion of the early church
All of the 149 Psalms before this come into view…
The fact that He is there in troubling times (3)
He is a refuge to the Righteous (5)
The heavens declare His glory, His instruction is perfect and renews one’s life (19)
He delivers His servant in battle (20).
The Lord watches over the blameless and their inheritance last forever (37)
We can cast our burdens on the Lord, He sustains His people (55)
God judges the wicked (75,76)
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of HIs throne, faithful love and truth go before Him (89)
We can delight IN HIS WORD (119)
God protects the oppressed and fights on behalf of those who are innocent.
He is gracious, compassionate, forgiving, merciful, slow to anger and great in faithful love (145).
We have no shortage of reasons as to why we should PRAISE YAHWEH.
There is no limit to his praiseworthiness.
Spurgeon: There is nothing little about our God, and there is nothing great apart from Him.
We have reasons and reasons for which we should praise God.
We therefore should be constantly informing our minds and our hearts of those reasons.
Transition Statement: Something so great as to our Lord, HIs majesty, His deeds and excellence; it makes sense then for the praise of HIs name to be so often expressed through WORSHIP IN SONG.
HOW (V. 3-5)
HOW (V. 3-5)
Music is a powerful thing.
- Emotion and mood enhancement: Listening to music can trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters linked to improved mood and stress reduction.
- Cognitive Benefits: Studies have shown that music can improve cognitive functions like memory recall and learning abilities. Learning to play an instrument enhances cognitive skills such as concentration, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Musical training can even lead to increased brain plasticity and improved academic performance in areas like math and language.
- physical Benefits: It can help lower stress hormones like cortisol, leading to decreased anxiety, lower blood pressure, and improved sleep quality.
Music can tend to touch down into our minds, our hearts, emotions, and can come out as actions from our bodies in the expressions of dance.
NOW, MUSIC can and has been used in ungodly ways within society and cultures for thousands of years (Dan. 3… Worshiping Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Statue)
BUT HERE WE SEE IT USED IN A GODLY HOLY WAY OF EXPRESSION TOWARD THE LORD.
John Piper helps us understand this in saying that
God will not be half glorified, meaning that he doesn’t want a doctrinally straight church with zero experience of affections,
and he doesn’t want a church with over the top emotions and affections and almost no rich understanding of the nature of God and what he’s done in the world.
those within reformed, baptist churches quite frankly have found themselves as each end of this statement.
No, God should be fully glorified within TRUE WORSHIP with our minds, our hearts, and yes even our affections (feelings) as we use anything and everything at our disposal to the praise and honor of our Lord.
This is what we see here in Psalm 150… We see a fully formed praise that is coming out of truth and knowledge of who God is, what He has done, His greatness and excellence…
there is much affection as the Psalmist is opening any avenue available within temple worship that can be used in the praise of His name. >>>>
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!
We should praise God for the gift of music.
To the Israelites, Music was an organic part of daily life from birth to death. It was a part of everything.
It is the gift of music that God has given His church as a way of expressing our gratitude, our awe, our heart and mind in a way that is pleasing to Him. And that is the KEY… IN A WAY THAT IS PLEASING TO HIM.
Our PRAISE IS DIRECTED TOWARD HIM, and nothing of ourselves. —->>> We can see this by the phrase “PRAISE HIM”, beginning each line.
To worship the Lord is to ascribe to Him! To Him be the glory and the honor, the adoration, the praise, reverence and devotion that is DUE HIM.
There is nothing about this Christian life that is about me except that I’m a sinner, saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, for the GLORY OF GOD ALONE.
The Bible is not about me.
Anything I walk through with God is not ultimately about me.
Church, and all of her ministries, is not about me and my preferences.
The church service… is not about me.
The preacher is not preaching for me.
We do not observe the ordinances of baptist and Lord’s supper for me.
We do not sing songs of praise for me, for my comfort, for my relief and need.
NO NO NO… ALL OF THIS>>> IS FOR HIM
The triune God ALONE is WORTHY OF OUR WORSHIP AND PRAISE.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
GOD IS ZEALOUS FOR HIS OWN GLORY… and so we should be as well.
AND SO, the Psalmist says… pull everything out!
Trumpet, lute, harp, tambourine and DANCE
(both tambourine and dance are also paired together in Ex. 15:20-21)!
Strings & pipe, sounding cymbals, LOUD CLASHING CYMBALS!
If this was a toddlers birthday present hall-in, most parents would be looking for the receipts to return these LOUD INSTRUMENTS!
Church of Christ is squirming in their seats with all these instruments, Baptist are squirming with the thought of dance.
This writer has done well in offending.
BRING IT ALL OUT FOR THE PRAISE AND HONOR OF OUR LORD… BUT DO IT WELL. Like it’s been said… do it in order, and well for the glory of God.
Transition Statement: After we are informed from the Psalm of the Where, Why, How… we are then left to wonder… WHO?
WHO (V. 6)
WHO (V. 6)
Who is to proclaim His praise?
I’m sure it’s just the Israelites right? It’s to them that belong the promise!
I’m sure it’s just to humans! It’s them who have been created in the IMAGO DEI.
These would only in part be right…
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
This line can literally be read, “All the breath, let it praise Yah.”
We see here that the praise of our Lord is not limited to humans, but this is a call to everything that breaths to praise Him.
Psalms 73–150 4. Who Is to Praise the Lord (150:6)
The term
22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
Psalms 73–150 4. Who Is to Praise the Lord (150:6)
The phrase kol (han) nəŝāmâ is elsewhere rendered
If you can breathe… you should be praise the Lord.
This is a perspective that it not fully understood by those who sometime come to worship on a Sunday morning, or go about our week without a thought of raising our voices to the Lord…
EVERYTHING that has breath OWES GOD THEIR BREATH BACK…
THIS IS THE PRIMARY REASON THAT WE HAVE OUR BREATH… TO PRAISE YAHWEH.
Transition: It has been said of many pastors and theologians, it’s in the Westminster shorter catechism that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And this Psalm, and the last few Psalms of the book of Psalms, really exemplify this…
SO WHAT? (Application)
SO WHAT? (Application)
This Psalm begins and ends with the phrase Hallelujah!
A few different words brought together to express this action of PRAISING, BOASTING in THE COVENANT KEEPING GOD IN SONGS AND ACTIONS OF PRAISE.
The book of PSALMS ENDS WITH EXCLAMATION POINT BECAUSE THIS IS THE VERY PURPOSE OF CREATION… the very purpose of everything that has breath.
This is the point that the book of Psalms has been portraying throughout the entire book!
No matter what our life circumstances may be… GOD IS DUE PRAISE FROM OUR BREATH.
AND HE HAS GIVEN US AMPLE REASON.
THIS IS THE CHIEF END OF EVERYTHING
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
The vastness of space, the magnificence of our solar system and all that is in it… has been set at it’s exact location to glorify God.
20 The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
The Vastness of our solar system, the wild animals in the wilderness… are made to give praise God and give Him glory.
You can go to Luke 2 and see where the angels who appeared at the birth of Christ… what do they say???
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
ALL OF THE CREATED UNIVERSE HAS BEEN CREATED AND SET IN IT’S PLACE TO GIVE GOD GLORY, HONOR AND PRAISE.
David understood this setting, He understood his assignment… and what seeking to fulfill this assignment would bring to him in his life…
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
And David understood that this… that in all that I do… if I set out to give God glory to praise His name… I will be glad. My whole being will rejoice.
MacArthur said it well…
THIS IS THE EXCHANGE THAT GOD WANTS TO GIVE MAN…
You glorify me
I will give you joy.
Fast forward to the NT and we understand that for those who have been redeemed… it is through Christ that we are able to glorify God.
Paul says as much in Ephesians…
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
It is through the GOSPEL OF CHRIST that we as the redeemed church are able to GIVE GLORY AND PRAISE THAT IS DUE HIS NAME… and church…
when we seek to PRAISE HIM THROUGH A FULLY FORMED PRAISE… driven by our hearts, our minds, and our affections for God…
Just like David… we will find ourselves…
not very easily shaken.
most often living a life full of joy.
while also dwelling in the security of our sovereign Lord.
Let us take this call seriously…
to utilize our understanding of God, our voice, our bodies, and our instruments to praise God, not withholding anything that He has given us for this purpose.
Let our praise be fully formed as our “worship catechizes our church.”
The ending of the book of Psalms is a beginning for us… a beginning of this understanding that all of our lives are called to praise YAHWEH.
Who would send His son that we might have abundant life through Him now and forever. PRAISE THE LORD!
