PRAISE THE LORD WITH SINGING AND WITH A LOUD VOICE

Proclamation:

“Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to The God of Jacob!”  Psalm 81:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Asaph, the director of music appointed by King David, who was also a seer who was said to prophesy. (2 Chronicles 29:30)  This psalm is a song which was to be sung at their celebration feasts.  Here the people are encouraged to make a joyful noise unto The Lord (Psalm 81:1-3) as they are in several other psalms. (Psalms 100 and 150)  It is a song about the strength of The Lord God, regarding what He had done for them and what He would do.  The psalm was written from the perspective of God with the majority of it lamenting because the people would not listen to Him. (Psalm 81:8-16)

Application:

We are encouraged to sing, and shout, and generally make a joyful noise as we praise The Lord.  He has done great things.  We do not want to displease Him by ignoring Him or by taking Him for granted. (Psalm 81:8, 11 and 13)  We do not want to miss out on blessings (Psalm 81:16) or cause Him to punish us. (Psalm 81:12)  So, let us praise The Lord, and do it often and with a loud voice.  His praise should continually be in our mouth. (Psalm 34:1, 71:6, and Hebrews 13:15)

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE UNTO THE LORD

Proclamation:

“Come, let us sing for joy to The Lord; let us shout aloud to The Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.  For The Lord is a great God …” Psalm 95:1-3 (NIV)

Explanation:

According to most Bible scholars, this psalm was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  The purpose was to tell the people of God that they should sing songs of joy to The Lord and that their praise and worship should be done with a loud voice.

Application:

As believers we should not only attend worship services regularly but we should actively participate in the praise and worship of The Lord.  We should sing the congregational hymns and we should do so loudly and with enthusiasm.  The worship service at church is not a spectator sport, it requires our active participation.  Unfortunately, most of us make more noise at sporting events than we do in our worship services.  It is okay to shout “Amen” when we hear The Word of God being preached accurately, truthfully, and appropriately.  We should not have to be asked to say “Amen”, “Praise The Lord”, or “Hallelujah.”   By saying “Amen” we are attesting to the truth of what was said.  By saying “Hallelujah” we are giving God the highest form of praise.  Throughout His Holy Word we are repeatedly exhorted to give God praise.  The Bible also encourages us to "... make a joyful noise ..." unto The Lord.”  Even if you sing off key, like I do, make some noise in church.  “Shout for joy to The Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 100:1)  Don’t let The Lord have to make the rocks cry out and praise Him because we kept quiet. (Luke 19:40)

Do Not Let The Rocks Speak For You

"Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!'  'I tell you,' He replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.' "  Luke 19:39-40 (NIV)

In the gospel according to Luke, the physician, these words were recorded which Jesus spoke to the Pharisees in the crowd of His disciples.  As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, (Luke 19:28), riding on the young colt, (Luke 19:33-35), the crowd began to shout praises unto Him. (Luke 19:37-38)  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus to rebuke them, and tell them to be quiet. (Luke 19:39)  Jesus responded to them by saying "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." 

As believers, we should praise The Lord God loudly and often. (Psalms 34:1, Psalms 35:27, and Psalms 100:1)  In fact, we are encouraged to praise Him continually.  For He is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. (Psalms 18:3, Proverbs 3:9, Romans 15:6, and Revelation 19:1)  He does not need us to give Him praise, but He will be praised.  If we do not praise Him, then the rocks will praise Him. (Luke 19:40)  Let us praise Him so that the rocks will not have to speak for us.  The Lord God is truly worthy to be praised.

Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord

"Shout for joy to The LORD, all the earth.  Worship The LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs."  Psalms 100:1-2 (NIV)  The King James Version reads: "Make a joyful noise unto The LORD, all ye lands.  Serve The LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing."

The author of this psalm clearly states that all of the people of God should shout and make a loud joyful noise when they sing and praise The Lord.  He also states that worship of The Lord should be done with gladness, not with drudgery, or out of a sense of forced obligation.

When we worship The Lord, we should do so gladly and with joy, we should be happy and loud as we praise His name.  We should not gather in church to worship and sit there quietly.  We should make some noise, joyful noise, as we praise Him and sing.  In fact, the phrase "make a joyful noise" is repeated seven times in the Bible.  (Psalms 66:1, Psalms 88:1, Psalms 95:1, Psalms 95:2, Psalms 98:4, Psalms 98:6, and Psalms 100:1)  It must be important for us to do it if it is repeated that often in The Word of God.  The Bible does not say that only those who sing well should sing praises unto The Lord, it says all of us, all the earth, should do so.  If we don't praise Him, He can make the rocks cry out with praise.  (Luke 19:40)  Let's not let the rocks have to speak for us, let's make a loud joyful noise unto The Lord.  Don't let the record which is kept in heaven reflect that we made more noise for some earthly event than we made praising God. (Proverbs 15:3, 1 John 5:7, and Revelation 12:20) 

Make A Joyful Noise When You Praise God

"With praise and thanksgiving they sang to The LORD: 'He is good; His love to Israel endures forever.' And all the people gave a great shout of praise to The LORD, because the foundation of the house of The LORD was laid.  But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.  No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise.  And the sound was heard far away.  Ezra 3:11-13 (NIV)

The prophet Ezra recorded that as the foundation of the temple was being laid, the people praised The Lord.  They made a loud joyful noise as they praised The Lord, which could be heard from far away.

Praise and worship was not meant to be a silent activity.  The Bible states that we should make a joyful noise unto The Lord.  (Psalms 66:1, 81:1, 95:1, 95:2, 84:4, 84:6, & 100:1)  We are to sing songs of praise unto The Lord.  (1 Chronicles 16:9, Psalms 30:4, Psalms 47:6 & 7, Psalms 68:4, Psalms 96:2, Psalms 135:3, Psalms 149:1, Jeremiah 20:13, Romans 15:11, & James 5:13)  Praise was not supposed to be a solemn activity.  Let us be obedient and let us make a joyful noise unto The Lord.