Our Praise His Passion

Last year I binged watched “The Office”. There is one scene when Michael, the boss, was moping around, asking some of his employees for a loan, and talking with others about ways to get out of debt. It did not take long for everyone in the office to know that Michael was having money problem. Then one of employees tells Michael about declaring bankruptcy. Michael, having the wrong impression on what that is, walks out to middle of the office complex and loudly proclaims or declares “BANKRUPTCY!”.

Unlike this declaration, there is something much better that we can declare. God helps his people when we need Him most. True praise is like this. Praise is a declaration what who God is and what God has done. It can be a joyful exclamation of the good and beautiful. It can be a cry from the heart that a need is or should be met. Declaring in voice is good, but it is all in the action and process of declaration that shows intent and purpose. If only Michael knew that simply yelling out “bankruptcy” would not solve his problems but to declare bankruptcy is a process, a legal process. Praise also is not just us speaking about God, but truly believing and living into the goodness of God.

Pray and Read Psalm 22:23-31

Psalm 22:23–31 NRSV

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. 25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. 28 For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. 29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, 31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

II. Psalm background

The first half of this psalm sounds very familiar if you remember the words Jesus spoke while He hung on the cross. My God, My God why do you forsake me” is the first verse here and hits you immediately. That is just one example.

The movement of this psalm is from despair to hope. The first 21 verses are of pure despair and sadness as the psalmist declares the feelings of abandonment and never-ending pain and suffering. Then the shift happens in verse 19 as David, who wrote the psalm begins to call out to God for rescue. Verse 22, David declares that he will praise God before all people when though they know of his suffering. This leads us to the part of the psalm we are reading today.

III. Anatomy of Praise

Declaring our Praise to God is not only in our heart or a thought. Praises are meant to be shared. We want to share our good news because it brings us joy and brings joy to those who are a part of our lives. We all love to hear good news. This is what Praise is, good news. Also, when we praise God we are sharing what God has done for us. So when we share our praise, we share the goodness of God. Sharing what God has done for you is a part of our praise. However, it is not all of our praise. To truly praise God is to praise Him for who God is even in the midst of your trials and your joys.

We say that it is easy to praise God when we are succeeding or have been blessed in some magnificent way. Yet also, we take little blessings for granted many time. We prefer to live in the plateau of verses 19-22 of praising God for the big blessings, ask God to help us when things aren’t going easily, and otherwise living a good peaceful life. However, when we face moments like that first verse, of being in the midst of great pain and suffering, we lose hope and feel that their is no end to our suffering.

I am not saying that these emotions are wrong. They are just human emotions and natural responses for children of God. Yet, we can’t deny the greatness of our praise when we go from the feelings of being forsaken and then seeing our prayers being answered. So that is really what we are reading in verses 23-31 today. These verses contain a great deal of praise that is followed by a great deal of suffering.

IV. The Suffering of Jesus and the Praise for Christ.

So we already talked about how the first half of this psalm calls to mind the words spoken by Jesus as He was dying on the cross. The second half not only can be spoken as our praise to God for what He has done in our life, but also a praise for what Jesus did during His time on Earth. We call the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus the Gospel which means good news. Again, good news is meant to be shared.

In verse 24, it says that He did not despise the afflicted. Jesus provided healing to the afflicted and what afflicted Himself. In verse 26, it says that the poor shall be feed. Jesus provided spiritual food and water and calls all who follow Him to give to the poor. Jesus was poor Himself when He walked the earth. As a matter of fact, all of earth, all nations, cultures and nature belongs to Him and Jesus is King.

So Jesus already did all these amazing things even before we were born. Jesus healed, taught, died and rose again well before you recieved your first blessings. So what does our praise look like after realizing this?

V. Call to Praise

What do we have to praise God for? The fact that God sent His Son is a big reason to praise! The fact that Jesus gives healing to the sick and provides for the poor is a reason to praise. On that note, today that healing and the resources for the poor comes through God’s people, and that is an act of praise. When we all together sing and tell of God’s greatness, mercy, and love we are giving God praise. When we give God praise, others learn about God and discover reasons to praise God for themselves!

So, all of God’s people have a reason to praise God. Even if you are going through a great trial of grief, sickness, rejection, accusations, you have a reason to praise God! If you are going through a season of wealth, new joys, peace, and prayers being answered just as you have hoped, you have a reason to praise God!

Our Praise is not just about what God has or even can do for us, our praise is about who our God is for all of humankind. When were praise God by remembering who our God is, we remember that we have reason to hope that God will answer prayers in His good and perfect will, and indeed there will be a time when all will bow done and praise our God.

What would it look like to Praise God when it seems to those around you that you should be ashamed or grieved or hurt. What does that not only say about you, but about your God?

Praise God in the Valley and on the Mountaintop

and watch as mountains are moved and God’s people shine bright in a world filled with darkness.

Praise God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen