Praise Ye The Lord
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intro
A Psalm is a song, Psalms is a song book. Psalm 150 is the song in this awesome book of songs. It is the conclusion of all the thoughts and revelations of the 149 other songs this book . . .and that conclusion is “Praise Ye the Lord”
1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power.
First part of this psalm issues a command, Praise ye the Lord
it is a command, not a suggestion
it is an imperative, not advice
it is an order, not a proposal
it is a mandate, not a recommendation
let that sink in . . . this song gives us a command
So we better figure out the WHAT praise is
Express warm approval, or admiration of
To show of endorsement or appreciation for someone
glorify - commend - exalt - compliment
notice that these are all action words: we must do something in order to praise
not just meditate on what God has done . . . though that’s good
not just feel positive about God’s goodness . . . that’s good too
but praise is outwardly expressing the results of your meditation, outwardly demonstrating that positive feeling
How do I express? What actions do I take. How do I glorify, exalt, commend, compliment the Lord?
Singing, talking - 1 Chronicles 16:9 - Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
Clap, shout – Psalms 47:1 - O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph
lifting of hands – Psalms 134:2 - 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.
Dancing – 2 Samuel 6: 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might
What is praise? It is expressing admiration, approval, and appreciation through singing, talking, clapping, shouting, lifting of hands and dancing to name a few
and Psalms 150 says . . . Praise ye the Lord
it say s“I’m going to need you to do that” . . .make that outward expression for THE Lord
sing for him, talk about his goodness
clap for him, shout for him
lift your hands to him
dance before him
so we have the WHAT
The next part of this Psalm turns to WHERE
1b Praise God in his sanctuary: this psalm reveals that one place we must praise God is at church
The sanctuary of God is the most fitting place for his praise. For it is a place set apart for His honor. If God is to be praised anywhere, it should be at the church.
but many times we come to church, but not for praise
sometimes we come out of habit, but you need to make a habit of praising God while you’re here
and there is nothing wrong with you coming to church to get encouraged, but I encourage you to praise God while you’re here
It’s ok to come to church and get the saints to pray over you, but also get the saints to praise God with you
and we all should expect to get a word from God when we come to church, but understand that God is expecting a word of praise from you
in fact, Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise, be thankful unto him and bless his name
Once place we are commanded to praise is at church
this church is to be a house of prayer and a place of praise
but there is some more to this “where to praise”
1c Praise him in the firmament of his power: this psalm reveals that not only should we praise God at church, we should praise God everywhere we go
the firmament is the atmosphere, the heavens, the sky that stretches from horizon to horizon
praise the Lord from the earth, all the way to his mighty heavens! We should not only praise God in church, but everywhere!
Since his glory fills the earth, his praise should fill the earth
you are command to look for opportunities to praise God outside the four walls of the church, you should not wait until you get to church
in other words, wherever you are and wherever you go, praise the Lord
at your house, praise the Lord
singing, clapping, lifting of hands, dancing, or shouting in your home!
when you leave the house, praise the Lord
we are so careful to prepare for our day by making sure that we pack our keys . . . wallet . . . phone . . . . phone charger . . . breath mints . . .hand sanitizer . . . . if you have kids then snacks,
but this verse commands us that as we are preparing for each day, we need to pack up some praise too!
so that you will have a praise everywhere you go
cause when you get in your car, you need a “thank you for transportation praise” already packed
when you are driving down the street, and you hear an ambulance passing by, you need a, “It could have been me praise”
and when make it to your destination safely, you need a “Thank you for protecting me” praise
when you sit down at the table, you need a, “The Lord is a provider praise
when you lay down in your bed each night, you’ll need a, “Thank you for keeping me” praise
Even if something goes wrong, you need a, “Hallelujah anyhow praise”
The psalms orders us to praise him, praise him at church, and praise him everywhere you go
Next the Psalm transitions to the WHY
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
2a Praise him for his mighty acts: This psalm reveals that we must praise God for what He’s done
First, His mighty acts include His demonstration of power
So praise him because He created the world with just a word
Praise him because he hung the sun, moon, and stars in the sky
So praise Him because he designed both the butterfly and the killer whale
praise him because He gave the horse it’s strength and eagle it’s eyesight
praise him because he created ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans
praise him because he created mountains, valleys, desserts, and jungles
praise him Because he had the power to make mankind by taking the dust and breathing the breath of life into it
praise him for his mighty acts
His mighty acts also refers to God’s heroic acts, how we saves and delivers his people
the writer of this psalm would be thinking about how God saved and delivered his people from Egypt with 10 plagues
this writer would be reflecting on how God saved them from Pharaoh’s army, when God divided the Red Sea and the children of Israel crossed on dry ground
He would be thinking on how God delivered them by bringing water from a rock when they were thirsty, and raining bread from heaven when they were hungry,
he would be thinking on how the Lord saves and delivers
and God has saved and delivered us too, every Christian should be reflecting on how God
saved us by the blood of Jesus at Calvary
delivered us from sin, guilt , and shame
saved us from the power of the enemy
delivered us from a burning hell
we were lost but he found us
we were blind, but he gave us sight
we were alone, but he became our friend
we were spiritual orphans, but he became our heavenly Father
we should be thinking of how God has delivered us over and over again
Praise God for his mighty Acts
We are still on the WHY
2b Praise him according to his excellent greatness - praise him because HE is not just great, but his greatness is excellent!
his greatness is better than great
his goodness is better than good
his awesomeness is better than awesome
he is more worthy than worthy
and when we look at this why, we see that we need to improve our praise. . . .
It does this by answering the question, “how much praise?” . . . .the answer: According to his excellent greatness
base the amount of your praise, on how much praise he deserves
and that’s the proper way to do it
when someone is very average, we give them that slow, half hearted, polite clap
when someone is amazing/outstanding we stand and clap vigorously, give them that standing ovation, even shake our heads with it . . . . because they deserve it.
The Bible calls God the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God” (1 Tim. 1:17)
The Bible calls him the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16).
He is omnipotent, omniscient, alpha and omega, holy, merciful, glorious
there is no searching his understand
He is so high that you can’t go over him, so low, wide
in him we live, move and have our being
He is so great that heaven is his throne and the earth is just his footstool. . . excellent greatness
and the psalms says that our goal is to give the Lord praise that is in proportion to his excellent greatness
A praise that is equal to his awesomeness
A praise that matches His magnificence
That’s why the verse says, “The Lord is great and greatly to be praised “
That’s going to take a lot of praise, and that’s why we will be praising him for ever and ever . . . . and guess what?
we are commanded to start that forever and ever praise right now
and we need to improve our praise to at least try to match his excellent greatness, make an effort to give him the praise he deserves
improve our praise? how? I’m glad you asked! just a few examples
some of us need to start singing instead of looking
some of us need to start singing loud instead of singing soft
some of us need start clapping instead of folding our hands together
some of us need to finally say, “Amen”
some of you have been stuck on Amen for 10 years, and it’s time to add: Thank you, Jesus! Glory! Hallelujah! I magnify you! I lift you up!
some of you have never raised a hand in church
it’s time to lift your hands in the sanctuary . . . God deserves it
some of you have never raised two hands in the sanctuary
it’s time to unashamedly put both hands up in reverence . . . God deserves it
some of you have never danced before the Lord, but you need to learn to move your feet for God because he deserves it!
We are commanded to praise the Lord
we are commanded to praise him at church and everywhere we go
we are commanded to praise him for what he has done, and praise him for who he is
Now the Psalm gets to the HOW
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Our praise is supposed to be noisy
you ever notice that almost everything that excites us is noisy?
football game, basketball game, holidays, parades, concerts, wedding reception, carnival . . .
and thus it makes sense that our praise is supposed to be noisy
3a Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
in the Bible, only priests played the trumpet, or the shofar (ram’s horn) - as a call to worship
in other words, the priests started the praise
in other words, the church leaders started the praise
in other words, the church leaders started the noise
in other words, you should be able to walk in WMBC and identify the pastor, preachers, teachers, deacons, youth leaders by their noisy praise
that’s probably the pastor there - he’s really going in
that must be one of the deacons - we just got started and he’s already clapping
that must be one of the youth workers because they are already making a joyful noise
Don’t have people thinking you are a visitor because you won’t make any noise!”
3b praise him with the psaltery and harp - This psalm reveals that some praise involves skillfull noise
in traditional Hebrew praise, trained Levites (church workers) played the psaltery and harp
they had talented and skilled people assigned to these particular instrument
it’s good for churches to have skillful people/musicians assigned to make excellent sounding noise for a most excellent God
We are still on the How
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
this verse reveals that praise should be joyful noise making opportunity for all . . . not just the church leaders, not just the musicians, but everyone . . . . grab your tambourines and dance.
grab some other noise makers and make a joyous sound, a loud praise, a high sounding praise
when it comes to praise, we are supposed to be a noisy crew!
late one Monday night, after a long day, my wife and I were in the bed knocked out, all of a sudden Elijah hollered out, “whoa!!!!”
we bolted up right in the bed, “Elijah, you ok, what’s wrong?”
it was Monday Night Football, and Elijah was watching the recording of the game. Drew Brees had just brought the Saints back with an incredible drive . . . Drew had done something great
if God has ever done something awesome in your life, sometimes your praise should be loud enough to startle somebody with your praise
every now and then, when you think of God’s goodness and all he’s done for me, you ought to shock your neighbor with a glory hallelujah!
“What’s wrong with you?” . . . I’m sorry, I’m ok, I was just thinking about God’s goodness . . . i get noisy when I get excited
Now we get to the WHO, if you have not already figured it out
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
6a Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord - This psalm reveals that if you are alive, you should praise the Lord
because it only list one condition – breathing
In other words, every morning that you wake up, you have at least one thing on your “To Do List”: praise the Lord
and yes everything that hath breath means everybody
I am looking, but I don’t see age option (like +35)
I am looking, but I don’t see just males or females
I am looking, but I don’t see a denomination
I am looking, but I don’t see a certain race
I say that because many seem to think praise is for older black females who belong to a pentecostal denomination.
But this command is for all of us
Females and males should praise the Lord
young and old
Black and white
married and single
rich and poor
Healthy and sick
your breathing is a reminder to praise the Lord . . . .
that’s why I try to train my grandchildren, sit up, stand up, clap, sing . . . . because they are commanded to praise the Lord too, and I am trying to raise them right
and also praise has nothing to do with feeling, just breathing
even if you are sad, you are still breathing
even if you are mad, you are still breathing
if you are out of sorts, you are still breathing
if you are mad, or sad, or out of sorts, or just not yourself, it does not negate the fact the the Lord is worthy to be praised!
The psalm starts off with “Praise ye the Lord” and ends with “Praise ye the Lord” . . . . it’s the same command, but it is also a CHALLENGE
we have the what, where, why, how, and the who
and the repeated command, “Praise Ye the Lord” is a challenge to obey
How will you respond ?
even if you say, “I already praise the Lord”, THE WHY taught us that everyone’s praise needs improving
in the Hebrew language, it is a word we use all the time, “Hallelujah”
Hallelujah is a command that says, “praise the Lord”
let me ask it this way: Are you going to “Hallelujah”?
some of us won’t praise the Lord even when we feel like praising the Lord, . . . . we start to feel a praise coming on, but we hold it back and won’t praise him . . . too self-conscious
others of us will praise him, but only when we FEEL a praise coming on
waiting for something to hit us, the Spirit to move us
waiting for something to just make my hands go up
but since Hallelujah is a command, then Praise becomes a matter of obedience . . . YOU make your hands go up, YOU move yourself and give God the praise!
you don’t have to wait for that inspiring testimony
you don’t have to wait for the choir to sing your favorite song
you don’t have to wait for the preacher to preach you happy
you just obey the command to praise the Lord
so, the question remains WILL you Hallelujah? It’s a matter of will, a matter of choice, a matter of obedience
This psalm is challenging us to recognize that praise is something you need to do, just like work is something you need to do
imagine this conversation, your boss calls, “How come you did not show up for work?
“I’m waiting on that work feeling to hit me”
“I just need to be inspired before I can work”
“maybe if you sing my favorite song, I’ll head out to work”
nah my brother, you need get to work!
you better punch that clock even if you are not feeling it
in fact some of you went to work every day this week without feeling like it
it’s better when you feel like it, but you ain’t gotta feel it, to do it
praise works the same way, it’s just something that you need to do!
it’s better when you feel it, but you ain’t gotta feel it, to do it
Understand this, some of your most meaningful praise
is when you clap, but you don’t feel like clapping
when you sing, but you don’t feel like singing
when you say, “Amen”, but you don’t feel like talking
you wave your hands, even though you want to sit down somewhere and cry
because that means you have an understanding of who God is
so we praise him through the storm and the rain
we praise him when we can’t see our way
that’s how we can bless the Lord at all times
let me make it simple, there are only two times to praise the Lord: when I feel like it and when I don’t (that’s from Deacon Alston)
somebody ought to say, “My Hallelujah belongs to you, you deserve it”
but then, some of us like to fall back on, that’s not my personality, I am really introverted, quiet, not loud and noisy
for some who say that, and it really is true . . . think about this: God is worth you breaking out of your norm
we break out of the norm for those we love
a father at a tea party with his small daughter
a husband watching a Hallmark movie with his wife (though sometimes they can get interesting)
this is not what I would normally do, but for you . . . I’ll do it!
that’s what following Christ is like
then for some of you who say, that’s not my personality . . . I don’t know about that . . .
I see how you act when it comes to sports . . .you’re quite animated
I see how you act when that driver cut you off . . . you can certainly talk
I see how you act when your child graduates . . . you know how to shout and clap
I see how you act at your high school reunion . . . you know how to make a joyful noise and dance
I see how you act for your fraternity or sorority
something is amiss . . . For God you say I am reserved and quiet, for everything else you say, “turn down for what?”
I’ve been a soccer parent, football parent, band parent . . . and no one had any problems praising their child.
if we can clap, shout, and scream for our children, certainly we can do that for the one who made them!
So, the challenge remains . . . .Praise Ye the Lord!
and I am not going to say that when praises up, blessings will come down,
but I will say that blessings follow obedience, and when you praise the Lord you are being obedient
and I am not going to say praise him until you get your breakthrough
but I will say praise him, when you are going through, because that demonstrates faith . . . and God responds to faith
Conclusion
Why talk about praising with all of the troubles in the world, with all the issues of life that need to be dealt with . . . you want to talk about praise?
preacher, I need peace of mind, joy, emotional healing, relationships restored, direction, a miracle . . . I need God to step in
first, So you want God to do something for you, that you probably don’t deserve, while you refuse to give Him the praise that he does deserve?
You want God to do what only He can do, but you won’t do the simple thing that he wants you to do
Finally, please understand that the very next book, in the very first chapter, Proverbs teaches that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.
in other words, being in awe of God, recognizing his excellent greatness, understanding his mighty acts . . . is the foundation of knowledge
and praise is a sign that you have that foundation, that you get it
and from that foundation comes the understanding and acceptance of the rest of Psalms:
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow”
“The Lord is my light and my salvation”
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth
“God is my refuge and my strength a very present help”
then you’ll have your peace of mind, joy, emotional healing, direction, you’ll trust in him for a miracle
Praise Ye The Lord