A Word about Praising the Lord

 

Today I want to share a word about praising the Lord, as I comment on Psalm 150:1-6.This passage reads: 

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals.  Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD 

What?

Many years ago, when Japanese carmakers had begun to dominate US auto sales with inexpensive but well-made cars, the Ford Motor Company tried to push back against the tide with a new slogan, “Quality is Job One!”  I will leave it to your judgment about how well Ford did in fulfilling their own marketing pitch, but I want to apply that same sentiment to our Christian walk. For a believer in Christ, “Praising God is Job One.” Psalm 150 gives us some good words to follow in our task of magnifying our Lord.

Who?

The first word reflected in this Psalm that I want to consider is  “who?” The Psalmist told  us that everything that has breath should praise the Lord. When we remember that God breathed into Adam and gave him life, I think it is clear that his meaning is that all people should praise the God who gave us life and every other good thing in our lives.  On Palm Sunday, Jesus told the Jewish leaders that if his followers remained quiet, the rocks of the earth would bring forth His praise. God’s creation is a wonderful reflection of His personality, abilities, actions, and will, but God wants the verbal praise and adoration of His greatest creation, people. We must worship Him in words, deeds, and attitudes, for He deserves it and it blesses us to express our love for Him. Don’t let rocks take our place in praising God!

Where?

The next word we can see in Psalm 150 is ”where?” The Psalmist told us that we should praise God everywhere, both in His sanctuary and also out in the world. Our experience with the COVID-19 virus has taught us we can worship God at home, in parking lots, and in cyberspace, but note that the first place we should praise Him is in His sanctuary. We need to gather in worship whenever we can to encourage and to equip one another, and then  we need to carry that attitude of worship back to our homes, and then out to our jobs, schools, places of recreation, and the market place. Worship is a Sunday thing but it also must become an everyday thing; praise starts in the congregation and then it must migrate out into the rest of the world. When we take our praise from church into the world, we truly become salt and light for the Kingdom of God!

Why?

Another word found in this passage is “why?” Simply put, we should praise Him for who He is, and for what He does. God is righteous and Holy; He is personal and transcendent; He is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, omni-benevolent, and omni-sagacious. There is no one like Him! God is Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, and no one can do the things He does. We praise God because He is the Great I Am, and as such He deserves our awe, love, obedience, and praise.

How?

Finally, the Psalmist tells us “how?” Yes, we are to praise Him with music and musical instruments, but the connotation of his words imply and whole-hearted, full-throated, nothing-left-back worship and adoration of our God. We need to put our best efforts and our greatest energy into praising the Almighty God of the Universe who sent His Uniquely Begotten Son to redeem us our of our sin and give us abundant and eternal life. He certainly deserves nothing less than our very best!

So how does our praise of our Lord match up with the kind that the Psalmist described?  If it doesn’t meet his standards we need to reevaluate our priorities!

Remember, don't get replaced by a rock!

Every blessing, 

Dr. Otis Corbitt