PRAISE THE LORD

Proclamation:

"Shout for joy to The Lord, all the earth.  Worship The Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs ... Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;  For The Lord is good and His love endures forever;  His faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalms 100:1-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was penned by an unknown human author but it was clearly written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The author encourages all of the people of the earth to shout praises unto The Lord.  They are exhorted to sing songs of praise and to worship The Lord with joy.  They should enter into His presence with a spirit of thanksgiving and praise.  The author’s point was that The Lord God deserves all glory, honor, praise, and worship.

Application:

The Bible repeatedly encourages believers to praise The Lord.  "Young men and maidens, old men and children.  Let them praise the name of The Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens." (Psalms 148:12-13)  Praising The Lord is a good thing to do. (Psalm 147:1)  There are many ways that we can praise Him but here we are encouraged to shout and make a joyful noise unto The Lord. (Psalm 100:1)  We are also encouraged to sing songs of praise.  Your singing may be off key, like mine is, but as long as we are making a “joyful noise unto The Lord” we are okay.  So, "Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy..." (Psalms 149:5)  I don’t know about you but I will praise The Lord for the rest of my life, for as long as I live. (Psalm 146:1-2)  We all should be truly thankful for all of the things that The Lord has brought us through.  We should praise Him for all that He has done, is doing, and will do.  "Let everything that has breath praise The Lord.  Praise The Lord." (Psalms 150:6)  The angels in heaven praise Him by shouting “Hallelujah”, which is the highest form of praise. (Rev 19:1)  We should praise Him now while we are able.  Let’s not wait until we get to heaven to praise Him.  Praise His holy and righteous name.  Hallelujah!!!  Praise The Lord.

PRAISE AND PRAYER DURING OUR TRIALS

Proclamation:

"Do not withhold Your mercy from me, Lord; may Your love and Your faithfulness always protect me.  For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.  They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.  Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me."  Psalms 40:11-13 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written by King David, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  David was quick to praise The Lord and to pray.  He prayed and praised The Lord when things were going well in his life and he prayed and praised The Lord whenever he was in trouble.  He confessed his many sins and asked for God's forgiveness and His help.  He praised God for delivering him out of deep distress. (Psalm 40:1-5)  He praised God for his salvation. (Psalm 40:6-10)  Then he prays for God’s mercy and grace. (Psalm 40:11-17)  He not only prayed for himself but he also prayed for all of the people of God. (Psalm 40:16)

Application:

We could all learn a lot from David.  For even though he committed many sins, he acknowledged them and asked God for forgiveness.  He never broke his communication with God and he was always aware of his relationship to God.  That is probably why he is often referred to as "a man after God's own heart." (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22)  We would do well to imitate that part of David's behavior.  We should pray and praise God in good times and bad.  All too often we forget to pray when things are going well and we forget to praise God when things are not going so well.  We need to praise Him and thank Him for what He has already done.  We need to quit worrying about the things that we don’t have and praise Him for that which we have.  Our glass is not half empty, it is half full.  Praise The Lord for that.

How Often Should We Praise God

"Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws."  Psalms 119:164 (NIV)

The author of this psalm stated that he praised The Lord seven times each day.  Some Bible scholars take this literally to mean seven times a day.  While others suggest that the number seven is used here as a statement of perfection or completion, and therefore it means an attitude of continual praise.

How often should we praise The Lord?  The Prophet Ezra stated that The Lord should be praised every morning and every evening. (1 Chronicles 23:30)  King David said that he would praise The Lord "at all times" and then he said that he would continually speak praise unto The Lord. (Psalms 34:1)  An unknown author said that we should praise The Lord from this time forth and for evermore. (Psalms 115:18)  Another unknown author said that he would praise The Lord as long as he was alive. (Psalms 146:2)  It is my belief that most believers praise The Lord twice a day, in the morning upon waking and in the evening just before bedtime.  It is also my firm belief that most believers do not praise Him seven times each day.  It is also my belief that very few of us, if any of us, praise The Lord continually, all day long.  The Bible says that The Lord is to be praised from sun rise until sun set, literally all day long, or every waking moment of every day. (Psalms 113:3)  All of us fall short of this.  We all need to praise The Lord more often.  We need to get ready and practice praising Him, because that is what we will spend eternity doing in heaven. (Revelation 5:13)

Praise God From Sunrise To Sunset

"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of The LORD is to be praised."  Psalms 113:3 (NIV)

This psalm of praise was sung was normally sung before the Passover meal.  The author is unknown.  The message, however, is quite clear, The Lord God is to be praised from the beginning of each day until the end of each day.

This verse literally says that we should praise God from sunrise to sunset.  However, some Bible scholars would say that it means that all who enjoy the benefit of a sunrise or a sunset should praise God. (Matthew Henry)  While other Bible scholars say that it means that we should praise God continually. (William MacDonald)  Still others say that we should praise God "from the first moment of consciousness in the morning to the last waking moment before sleep." (John MacArthur)  It is clear that we should praise God, and we should praise Him multiple times during each day, and not just during the daylight hours.  

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.

The Lord Is To Be Praised

"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of The LORD is to be praised."  Psalms 113:3 (NIV)

The psalmist states that God is to be praised from sunrise until sunset, literally all day long.  This implies that Christians ought to be continually praising God.

We are to praise God all from the first thing in the morning until the last thing at night.  Some of us wake up before the sun rises, and most of us stay up long after the sun sets.  So, we are to spend every waking moment praising The Lord.  We should strive to live in such a way that all we think, say, and do will give God glory.  If we could do that, we would live a perfect life.  However, due to our sinful nature, such is not humanly possible.  But just because that kind of perfection is not possible to attain, does not mean that it is not a goal that is well worth striving for.  We should all want to sing the song "Praise Is What I Do" and mean it.  Let's praise The Lord everyday, multiple times each day, and not just on Sundays.  Praising God is not just an action, it is an attitude, a way of life.  We should also sing "Praise Is Who I am" and mean that too.

How Often Do We Praise God?

"Seven times a day I praise You for Your righteous laws."  Psalms 119:164 (NIV)

In one of the "utterances" of prayer recorded by King David in this psalm, he said that he praised God seven times each day.

There is some debate among the Bible scholars as to whether David actually praised God seven times a day, or whether the phrase "seven times" was a reference to perfection and completeness, suggesting an attitude of continual praise. (John MacArthur)  Whether it is literal or figurative, such a term expresses great gratitude to God for His Word. (Finis Dake)  The number "seven" may have been, or probably was a figure representing "many times." (C John Collins)  The phrase "seven times" clearly meant "very frequently." (Matthew Henry)  Most of us pray, at most, five times a day, before meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), when we wake up, and just before bedtime.  Is five times each day enough praise?  Maybe our lives would be better off if we spent more time praising God.  Maybe we should make it a point to praise God at least seven times each day, and not just on Sunday.

Praise Honor And Revere The Lord

“I will declare Your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise You.  You who fear The Lord, praise Him!  All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!  Revere Him …” Psalms 22:22-23 (NIV)

This psalm begins with David lamenting his suffering and the suffering of our Lord, Jesus The Christ, and ends with exhortations to praise The Lord.  The people were encouraged to praise, honor, and revere The Lord.

Given all that He has done for us, we ought to thank Him and praise Him, all day, every day.  We ought to honor Him and revere Him by keeping His commandments and obeying His Word.  Jesus said: "If you love me, keep my commandments."  (John 14:15)

Praise And Prayer During Trials

"Do not withhold Your mercy from me, O Lord; may Your love and Your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me." Psalms 40:11-13 (NIV)

David was quick to praise The Lord and to pray. He praised The Lord when things were going well and he prayed whenever he was in trouble. He confessed his many sins and asked for God's forgiveness and His help.

We could learn a lot from David. For even though he committed many sins, he acknowledged them and asked for forgiveness. He never broke his communication with God and he was aware of his relationship to God. That is probably why he is often referred to as "a man after God's own heart." We would do well to imitate that part of David's behavior.

We Should Praise The Lord

"Praise The Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness ... Let everything that has breath praise The Lord. Praise The Lord." Psalms 150:1-2 & 6 (NIV)

God is great. He has done great things. He deserves our praise. Everyone who is alive and breathing should praise The Lord for each breath and heart beat.

One thing that we do not do enough of is praise The Lord. We should praise The Lord daily, in fact, we should praise Him multiple times each day. We should quit complaining about what it is that we don't have and praise Him for what we have. "Let everything that has breath praise The Lord."

A Call To Praise And Thank God

"Make a joyful noise unto The Lord ... Serve The Lord with gladness ... He is God ... He ... made us ... we are His ... Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations." Psalms 100:1-5 (KJV - King James version)

"Shout for joy to The Lord ... Worship The Lord with gladness ... He is God ... He ... made us ... we are His ... Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For The Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalms 100:1-5 (NIV - New International version)

This Psalm is a call to praise and thank The Lord. We are not only told to praise Him, but how to praise Him, and why we should praise Him.

During this period of celebration and giving thanks, and every day for that matter, we should let everyone that we come into contact with know that The Lord God is the source of all goodness and that we are grateful for all that He has done, is doing, and will do for us in the future.

My Strength And My Song

When hard times come and things get rough, "And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee; though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for The Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song ..." Isaiah 12:1-2

The children of Israel sang this hymn of praise. We also ought to rejoice, sing praises unto Him,
and give thanks for the grace of God.

God will deliver the faithful from the consequences of their sins just as He delivered Israel. We will be punished for our sinful ways, but God will not stay angry with us. If we honestly cry out to Him, He will help us and save us from our situation.

And that is reason enough to rejoice and sing praises to His name.