Praise the Lord

Intro:

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!

The blessed man of Psalm 1 will find if he meditates on God’s Word (in the Psalms) he will find himself Praising the Lord as a result

Psalm 1:2 ESV

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Praise the Lord

Showing approval and adoration

God above anything and anyone else deserves our approval and adoration

1. When Praise the Lord

13 times the Psalmist says Hallelujah!

Hebrews 13:15 ESV

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

“The duty exists for the delight,” Lewis says. “When we carry out our ‘religious duties’ we are like people digging channels in a waterless land, in order that when at last the water comes, it may find them ready. I mean, for the most part. There are happy moments, even now, when a trickle creeps along the dry beds; and happy souls to whom this happens often.”

So wherever you find yourself this morning..... In a dry and cold place or on the mountain tops of thankfulness..... Hear the command to Praise Him to mean right now.... this step and then this step!

Praise the Lord Now.... and Continually! Whether it is easy or a sacrifice!

2. Where to Praise the Lord?

Psalm 150:1 ESV

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

A. In the sanctuary

In His presence and with His people

On Earth - God deserves praise here on the earth in our every day life and in the gathering of believers

In Heaven - God’s presence in heaven deserves praise from the saints and angels there

Colossians 3:16 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Ephesians 5:19 ESV

19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

Practical application - Hebrews 10:24-25

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

We should meet together regularly for praise and worship to God.... That is why we have this rhythm here at 200 Longbranch Road......

1. There is an encouragement to see others joining in worship.... you feel it when the room is full

2. You also feel encouragement when you hear others singing..... It stirs you up!

3. Why Praise the Lord?

400 times the Bible speaks of singing.... and it is commanded 50 times.

But.... does God need a pick me up for us to encourage him to keep going? God Lacks Nothing....

Psalm 150:2 ESV

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

Psalm 139 recap

His Character -

Omniscience

Omnipresence

Omnipotence

His Promises

Victory in Battle

Provision

His Salvation

In Christ Jesus - Birth, Life, Death, Burial, and Ressurection

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We are encouraged, changed and moved in our hearts to match our heads.... That’s why we praise God.

Piper - a new God-designed, God-reflecting beauty comes into being......

When you lament.... you sing

When you need wisdom you sing

When you are facing your enemies - you sing

When you are thankful - sing

When you are joyful - sing

When you are in the depths of depression - sing

Because this morning.... you will go home and you will sing the truths of Gods word we sung this morning...... You will not go home singing the 5 questions I am sharing from this text!

God created music for your heart and your head and your body and your soul to come into His presence for you to be more like Jesus!

4. How to 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!

The trumpet - Uniting armies and battle, The giving of the Law, the calling together the congregation, the return of Jesus

The tambourines - After the parting and crossing of the Red Sea

The strings and pipe - Beautiful music (David and his musicians in Psalms)

The Cymbals and loud clashing cymbals - Finding anything you can to make noise for your God!

III. Sing All. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. 7 rules by John Wesley written in 1761

IV. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan. 7 rules by John Wesley written in 1761

If I am honest, I was raised a Southern Baptist..... meaning that I came in, found the seat, made sure my hands and feet were in the aisle with the tray table up with the lap band seat belt across me..... are your tracking with me?

The Bible makes it clear that we should be ALL IN with our whole heart, mind, Body and soul......

Can you sit and be all in.... yes.... Can you be standing and be all in.... yes......

But I wonder if you are more worried about someone else seeing you raise a hand.... or.... hearing your voice whole heartely singing.......

Are you all in with everything you have when we worship Jesus?

5. Who should Praise the Lord?

Psalm 150:6 ESV

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

All creatures of our God and King

Luke 19:40 ESV

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Westminster Catechism Question 1

What is the chief end of man?

To Glorify God and enjoy him forever.

You were created to worship.... to praise God.... to glorify him and enjoy him forever..... the more you praise Him the more you will find delight in Him.

Martin Lloyd Jones - Show me how a person praises God and I will show you if he is a Christian....

Not how you read your Bible, pray, or talk..... but how you worship......

Philippians 2:10–11 ESV

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Here is the truth.... it will one day come to pass..... whether you are bowing your knee and praising God as your Savior..... or you are bowing your knee to King Jesus and recieving the wrath of God due your sin.

to Praise him as a follower of Jesus is to know your sins are forgiven and your eternity in heaven awaits praising him at every step of this journey.

The Psalms and LCBC

In every circumstance of life, they should a response of worship to God.

wisdom

lament

imprecatory

Exaltation of the King - Royal

Thanksgiving and Remembrance

Pilgram

Psalms of Praise

We would be ALL IN and REGULARLY JOINING IN to sing God’s truth to each other to edify us and glorify God

Anticipates the joy of worship in heaven

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”