SING A SONG OF PRAISE UNTO THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“And he said, ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; In Him will I trust; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; Thou savest me from violence.  I will call on The Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies.”  2 Samuel 22:2-4 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  This entire chapter is the song of praise which David spoke or sang unto The Lord after He delivered him from the hand of his enemies, out of the hand of Saul.  The words are almost identical to the words of Psalm 18, and most of the Bible scholars believe that these words were written in his old age.  This was David’s public expression before the congregation of Israel of his gratitude for his deliverance from his enemies.  It was written and sung, to give praise, honor and glory to The Lord God.

 

APPLICATION

We have all been in at least one bad situation which The Lord God delivered us out of, or through.  We may not be able to compose a song of praise to The Lord, and we may not be able to sing the words of a song of praise in the proper key.  However, the Bible teaches us that we should “make a joyful noise” unto The Lord. (Psalm 66:1, Psalm 81:1, Psalm 95:1-2, Psalm 98:4, and Psalm 100:1)  We can read out loud the words of this psalm of praise, or some other psalm of praise, to give God glory.  As believers we should not have to be told to praise The Lord, we should do that spontaneously and frequently every day.

 

THE ARK OF GOD IS BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM

PROCLAMATION

“… So David went and brought the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom into the city of David with gladness … And David danced before The Lord with all his might … and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of The Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.”  2 Samuel 6:12-15 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  King David gathered together thirty thousand young men and went to the house of Abinadab in Gibeah to get the ark of God and bring it to Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 6:1-3)  They placed the ark on a new cart and the sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, went along with them to guide the cart.  Along the way, one of the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out and touched the ark.  The anger of The Lord was kindled against Uzzah and He struck him down and he died right there. (2 Samuel 6:3-7)  David was both angry with and afraid of The Lord God and was not willing to take the ark to Jerusalem.  Instead he took the ark to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.  The ark remained there for three months and The Lord blessed him and his entire household. (2 Samuel 6:8-11)  When David was told how The Lord had blessed the household of Obed-Edom, David went and got the ark and brought it to Jerusalem.  The Israelites rejoiced, shouted, and sounded the trumpets as the ark entered the city.  David was leaping and dancing before The Lord.  They placed the ark in the midst of the tabernacle, then David sacrificed the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, blessed the crowd, fed them, and then they went home.  When David got home his wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, told him that she saw him dancing around shamelessly and she was displeased.  David responded to her that in the future he would become even more undignified and he would humiliate himself before The Lord God. (2 Samuel 6:19-23)

 

APPLICATION

When we get seriously into praising The Lord, it is not important what the people think.  Our focus should be on praising The Lord and not on entertaining the people.  Our praise should be sincere and individualized, and not a copy of someone else’s dance or praise.  We should not be quiet to avoid embarrassing our family or friends; if we lose friends, then so be it.  Christ said that if His followers are quiet and don’t praise Him, then the rocks will cry out. (Luke 19:40)  No rock will have to speak for me; I will praise The Lord. 

PRAYING AND PRAISING GOD CAN CHANGE THINGS

PROCLAMATION

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.  At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”  Acts 16:25-26 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

Paul went to Macedonia in response to a vision he had. (Acts 16:9-10)  There he met Lydia, a wealthy woman who worshiped God.  He baptized her, and he and Silas stayed at her house. (Acts 16:13-15)  One day, on their way to the place of prayer, they met a female slave who had a spirit within her by which she predicted the future.  Her owners earned a great deal of money from her fortune-telling.  For many days she followed them around shouting, “These men are servants of The Most High God …” and annoyed Paul so that he called the spirit out of her. (Acts 16:16-18)  This upset her owners who lost their hope of making more money through her.  So they had Paul and Silas arrested.  Because of the charges which they brought against them, they were stripped, beaten, severely flogged, thrown into prison and put in the stocks. (Acts 16:19-24)  While in prison the prayed and praised God, and suddenly their chains fell off and the prison doors flew open.  They did not leave the prison.  When the jailer saw what had happened, he led them out of the prison and brought them to his house.  There Paul and Silas spoke the word of The Lord to all that were in his house, and the jailer and his whole household were saved. (Acts 16:27- 34)

 

APPLICATION

We are encouraged to always pray (Luke 18:1) and His praise should always be on our lips. (Psalm 34:1)  However, when things have gone from bad to worse, and life has gotten us down, and it seems that there is no way out, it is hard to be positive.  When things appear to be at their worst, that is the time when we should pray and praise The Lord anyhow.  The Lord God can make a way out of no way.  There is no problem or situation that is so bad that God cannot fix it.  We need to exercise our faith in order for it to get stronger.  It takes some pretty strong faith to praise Him when things are much worse than we ever imagined.  Remember, we cannot have a testimony without first going through a test.  Trust in The Lord.  Pray until something happens.  Praise Him in the midst of our storms because all things work together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) 

 

PRAISE THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“When He came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: ‘Blessed is The King who comes in the name of The Lord!’  ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’  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 19:37-40 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, which were spoken by Christ according to Luke, the physician.  After He had finished teaching His disciples, Jesus left that area and headed towards Jericho.  As He approached Jericho, a blind beggar heard that He was passing by and called out to Him.  Jesus healed him, and he immediately received his sight and then he began to follow Jesus. (Luke 18:35-42)  As He entered Jericho, He stayed at the home of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. (Luke 19:1-10)  While there He told them The Parable of The Ten Minas. (Luke 19:11-26)  As He left there and entered Jerusalem, the crowd of disciples with Him began to shout praises to The Lord.  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd asked Jesus to tell His disciple to be quiet.  Jesus replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40)

 

APPLICATION

In multiple locations throughout The Bible, believers are told to praise The Lord.  Here, Jesus, The Christ, makes it perfectly clear that if His believers do not shout out praises, then the stones will praise Him.  Some Bible scholars believe that the stones refer to non-Jewish people while others believe that the reference is literally to the rocks.  The Lord God has the power to bring forth unexpected people or even the inanimate objects to declare His praise.  I do not want a rock to take my place, so I will praise The Lord.  No rock will have to speak for me.  Believers should not have to be told to praise The Lord.  His praise should continually be coming out of their mouths. (Psalm 34:1 and 71:6)  Praise The Lord, saints!  For He is worthy to be praised.

 

THE LORD GOD GIVES AND HE TAKES AWAY

THE LORD GOD GIVES AND HE TAKES AWAY

PROCLAMATION

“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.  Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and The Lord has taken away; may the name of The Lord be praised.”  Job 1:20-21 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Job was an upright man who feared The Lord God.  Job was also very wealthy, and he had large herds of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys.  He also had a large number of servants. (Job 1:1-3)  The Lord God allowed Satan to take everything from Job except his health (Job 1:6-19) and Job still praised The Lord. (Job 1:20-22)

APPLICATION
Everything that we have is a gift from The Lord God and that includes our health, each breath, and each heartbeat.  When we leave this world, we will not take anything with us.  The things which we put so much value on in this life will have no meaning for us when life ends.  All that we have is only temporarily on loan to us and is not really ours.  Everything on earth belongs to The Lord God, (Psalm 24:1)  He can give some of it to us and He can take it away from us as He pleases.  We should praise God during the good times and during the times which are not so good.  In fact, we should praise The Lord all of the time. (Psalm 34:1)

SING UNTO THE LORD A SONG OF PRAISE

PROCLAMATION

“He said: ‘The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.  He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior; from violent people You save me.  I called to The Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.’”  2 Samuel 22:2-4 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

This is the song of praise which David spoke or sang unto The Lord after He delivered him from the hand of his enemies, out of the hand of Saul.  The words are almost identical to the words of Psalm 18 and most of the Bible scholars believe that these words were written in his old age.  This was David’s public expression before the congregation of Israel of his gratitude  for his deliverance from his enemies.  It was written and sung to give praise, honor and glory to The Lord God.

APPLICATION

We have all been in a bad situation which The Lord God delivered us out of or through.  We may not be able to compose a song of praise to The Lord, and we may not be able to sing the words of a song of praise in the proper key.  However, the Bible teaches us that we should “make a joyful noise” unto The Lord. (Psalm 66:1, Psalm 81:1, Psalm 95:1-2, Psalm 98:4, and Psalm 100:1)  We can read out loud the words of this psalm of praise, or some other psalm of praise, to give God glory.  As believers we should not have to be told to praise The Lord, we should do that daily.

CELEBRATE THE LORD GOD

PROCLAMATION

“Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before The Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of The Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.”  2 Samuel 6:14-15 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After David had been anointed king of all Israel and had again battled and defeated the Philistines, (2 Samuel 5:17-25) he went to Baalah in Judah to get the ark of God and to bring it to Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 6:1-2)  There was rejoicing and celebrating among the people of Israel. (2 Samuel 6:12-13)  King David was dancing in the street as he celebrated the ark of God entering the city of Jerusalem.  His wife, Michal the daughter of Saul, saw him and she was displeased. (2 Samuel 6:16)  When David came home, she confronted him, and David told her that he was celebrating before The Lord God and that he would continue to celebrate before The Lord, and that he would even do so more vigorously in the future. (2 Samuel 6:20-23)

APPLICATION

Frequently as believers we have been encouraged to pray like David, and to walk before The Lord God as David did.  However, I cannot recall being encouraged to dance like David did to celebrate The Lord God.  When we sing, shout, dance, and get our praise on, it should not be done for show but for the glory of God.  Our praise and worship should not be done for the entertainment of the people.  It is to be a genuine, heart felt celebration of The Lord God for who He is and for what He has done.  Likewise, preachers should not be preaching to entertain the people but rather to teach them what “thus saith The Lord”. (Zechariah 11:4)  All of the efforts of the people of God and the preachers should be done in celebration of God and for His glory.  We shouldn’t let anybody interfere with our celebration of The Lord God.

DO NOT PRAISE YOURSELF

Proclamation:

“Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.”  Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King Solomon under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this verse, Solomon advises the people of God not to indulge in self praise.  He states that they should let others speak highly of them and praise of them rather than say it themselves.

Application:

The Bible teaches us that believers are to be humble. (Romans 12:3)  It is hard to be humble and to brag at the same time.  We should do things which give God glory, and do things which help those who are in need.  However, we should not do these praiseworthy things in order for us to be praised.  We should do those things which are good and honorable because it is the right thing to do.  Those who do things to get attention of others, or who call attention to the blessing which they have been to others, may themselves be cursed instead of blessed. (Proverbs 27:14)  Praising one’s self may do more to ruin one’s reputation rather than enhance it.

LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD

Proclamation:

“Praise The Lord … Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness … Let everything that has breath praise The Lord.  Praise The Lord.”  Psalm 150:1-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are also thought to have been written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is the “grand finale” of the “Hallelujah” psalms and the final psalm.  The focus of this psalm is praise.  The word praise is mentioned three times in the first verse and twice in each of the remaining five verses.  The Lord God is the object of our praise and everything that has breath should praise Him.

Application:

We should praise the Lord God more often than we do.  It does not matter how often we praise Him, we could never praise Him enough.  Even if His praise was continually in our mouth, we would never give Him too much praise.  When we think of who He is, and all that He has done, and all of His goodness that He has shown to us, we should shout praises to His name.  To God be the glory!  Hallelujah!  Praise The Lord!

THE LORD GOD DELIGHTS IS HIS PEOPLE

Proclamation:

“For The Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with victory.  Let His faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.  May the praise of God be in their mouths …”  Psalm 149:4-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are also thought to have been written by King David and it is clear they were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is another one of the “Hallelujah” psalms.  This psalm is about the “new song” which the people of God will sing regarding Jesus, The Christ, as our redeemer. (Psalm 149:1)  The people of Zion will be glad and celebrate with singing, dancing, and making music. (Psalm 149:2-3)  This will be pleasing to The Lord God.

Application:

There will come a time when all of God’s people will celebrate with joy.  We will enjoy the victory over sin, death, and this world.  We will be singing songs of praise and jumping for joy.  We can rejoice now, in the midst of our trials and tribulations here on earth because we know that in the end we will get the victory.  The humble down here will be glorified in heaven with unspeakable joy. (1 Peter 1:8)  Praise The Lord.

FOR HIS NAME ALONE IS TO BE EXALTED

Proclamation:

“Praise The Lord from the earth, you … young men and women, 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.”  Psalm 148:7-13 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are also thought to have been written by King David.  Regardless of who the human author is, it is clear that it was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is another one of the “Hallelujah” psalms.  It encourages all things heavenly (Psalm 148:1-6) and earthly (Psalm 148:7-12) to praise The Lord.  This will be the ultimate hallelujah chorus when all of His creations sing praises unto Him. 

Application:

One day, everything that The Lord God created will praise His name for He is worthy of all praise.  His name is to be exalted high above every name. (Philippians 2:9)  Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. (Romans 14:11)  His glory is great. (Psalm 21:5)  His glory is above the heavens. (Psalm 113:4 and 148:13)  He is worthy to be praised. (Psalm 18:3 and Revelation 5:12)  Praise The Lord.

THE LORD GOD DELIGHTS IN THOSE WHO FEAR HIM

Proclamation:

“Praise The Lord … He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds … The Lord sustains the humble … The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.”  Psalm 147:1-11 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are also thought to have been written by King David.  Regardless of who the human author is, it is clear that it was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is another one of the “Hallelujah” psalms and this one celebrates God’s goodness towards earth and to Jerusalem.  He builds up Jerusalem and gathers the exiles of Israel. (Psalm 147:2)  He strengthens the gates of the city and blesses the people within them. (Psalm 147:13)  He has done things for Israel which He has not done for any other nation. (Psalm 147:20)  The psalmist also talks about God’s knowledge of the stars in the sky (Psalm 147:4) and His control of the weather. (Psalm 147:8 and 16-18)  Scattered throughout this psalm are examples of the things which He does for His people.

Application:

We need to praise and thank The Lord God much more than we do.  He has done so much for us.  He heals us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  He protects us, preserves us, and sustains us while providing for our needs.  He not only protects and provides for us but He also provides for all of the animals of the world. (Psalm 147:9)  Everything is under His control including the weather, which people refer to as “Mother Nature” instead of acknowledging that it is the work of The Lord God.  All power is in His hands.  To God be the glory!!!  Blessed are those who put their trust in The Lord God. (Jeremiah 17:7)  Hopefully, we would do something each day in which The Lord God would find delight.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  Blessed are those whose help is The God of Jacob, whose hope is in The Lord their God.”  Psalm 146:3-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are thought to have been written by King David.  Whoever the human author, it is clear that it was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is one of the “Hallelujah” psalms.  These last five psalms all begin and end with the phrase, “Praise The Lord.”  There are no prayers for help or deliverance, and no mention of persecution or suffering.  This is all about giving God praise.  Do not put your trust in a human being, put your trust in The Lord God, our creator and our savior. (Psalm 118:8-9 and 146:3-5) 

Application:

This psalm is all about praise and here we are encouraged to praise The Lord.  The second half of this psalm offers us reasons for trusting in The Lord God. (Psalm 146:5-10)  This psalm by no means is an exhaustive list of such reasons.  In fact, the more personal we make the list of reasons, the longer it becomes.  We have more reasons for trusting Him than we can count.  He has blessed us with blessing after blessing, one right after another, and more blessings than we can count.  Each heartbeat, each breath, and every properly functioning part of our body are all blessings.  Our very existence, all that we have, our family and friends, and all that is around us are blessings from God.  Why would or should we trust in man when he can do nothing for us, whereas The Lord God can do, and has done, everything for us. 

WE SHOULD PRAISE THE LORD GOD EVERY DAY

Proclamation:

“I will exalt You, my God The King; I will praise Your name for ever and ever.  Every day I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever.”  Psalm 145:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is a psalm of praise, one of the “Hallelujah” psalms.  It is also acrostic, meaning that each verse begins with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, only the letter “nun” is missing.  The reason for that omission is still being debated by Bible scholars.  David begins by saying that he will lift up and praise the name of The Lord God every day. (Psalm 145:1-2)  Then he states that each generation of believers will tell the next generation of His great works, His mighty acts, and His goodness. (Psalm 145:3-7)  After that he proceeds to glorify God’s kingdom and recounts some of the reasons that The Lord God is worthy of all this praise. (Psalm 145:8-20)

Application:

As believers we are to praise The Lord God for who he is and not just for what He has done or can do for us.  We should also praise Him every day of the week and not just on Sunday when we go to church to worship.  We should not forget to praise the redemptive work of Jesus, The Christ, on Calvary, which He did for our salvation.  Nothing that we do is more important than our prayer, praise, and worship.  Maybe we should read one of the Hallelujah psalms each day. (Psalms 112 to 118 and 145 to 150)  Maybe this would help us in our praise without petitions.  We should not approach The Lord God only when we want something from Him.  Some of the time we ought to just praise Him and say thank you.

I LIFT UP MY HANDS IN TOTAL PRAISE

Proclamation:

“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all Your works and consider what Your hands have done.  I spread out my hands to You; I thirst for You like a parched land.”  Psalm 143:5-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is another prayer by David to The Lord God for urgent help.  He asks for mercy and he appeals to God’s faithfulness and righteousness.  He asked not to be judged. (Psalm 143:1-2)  He reflects on the things that The Lord God has done in the past and he asks for His help. (Psalm 143:5-9)

Application:

The Lord God has done so many great things in this world, no one can count them all.  We cannot even remember all of the marvelous and wonderful things that He has worked out in our lives.  But when we think about the things He has done for us, those which we can remember, we ought to throw up our hands in praise and thank Him.  When we think of the sinful things that we have done, we are so undeserving.  However, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)  If we truly thirst for Him, we will satisfied.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)  “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Matthew 7:7)  Praise His holy and righteous name.

PRAISE THE LORD GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART

Proclamation:

“I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart … I will sing Your praise.  I will bow down … and will praise Your name for Your unfailing love and Your faithfulness …”  Psalm 138:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This is a psalm of praise which includes a bit of prophesy.  One day, all of the kings on earth will praise The Lord. (Psalm 138:4-5)  Here David is offering wholehearted praise to The Lord God because He answered his prayer. (Psalm 138:1-3)  The Lord God preserved him from his foes and vindicated him. (Psalm 138:7-8)

Application:

Most believers praise and worship The Lord God regularly.  We need to check ourselves and make sure that we are not just giving Him lip service and going through the motion habitually.  We need to sincerely offer prayer, praise and worship with our whole heart.  Our efforts need to be fervent. (James 5:16)  We should worship Him in spirit and in truth with the complete focus of our mind, heart, and soul on Him. (John 4:24 and Matthew 22:37)  Nothing in our life, including the little “gods” that we worship, should be more important to us than The Lord God.  He should be our first and most important priority.  “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD AND PRAISE HIM

Proclamation:

“To Him who alone does great wonders … who by His understanding made the heavens … who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.”   Psalm 136:4-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God and given to the Levites to sing every day. (1 Chronicles 16:40-42)  The song was designed to show every kind of blessing which The Lord God had given them.  It begins with the work of creation (Psalm 136:5-9) and ends with the provision of food for every creature. (Psalm 136:25)  Each of the twenty-six verses in this psalm ends with the phrase, “…His love endures forever.”

Application:

As the children of Israel were reminded to remember all of the blessings that The Lord God had bestowed upon them, we need to remember all of our blessings.  We need to thank and praise The Lord God for all that He has done for us, for all that He has brought us through, for all that He has kept us from, and for all that He has provided for us.  His love and mercy endures forever.  We take so much for granted, let us not be ungrateful.

THE LORD GOD DOES WHATEVER HE PLEASES

Proclamation:

“The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.  He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses.”  Psalm 135:6-7 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by an unknown human author.  It is thought to have been written by King David because the beginning is similar to Psalm 134, and it begins and ends with “hallelujah” like Psalm 113.  This is another one of the hallelujah psalms, a song of praise.  After exhorting the saints to praise The Lord and presenting the justification for doing so, (Psalm 135:3-5) the psalmist presents the awesomeness of God. And His power. (Psalm 135:6-7)  He follows this with several examples of things which The Lord God did. (Psalm 135:8-12)  Then he repeats the description of the idol gods and the people who worship them. (Psalm 115:4-11 and 135:15-18)  He ends the psalm by encouraging the people of God to praise The Lord. (Psalm 135:19-21)

Application:

Believers are encouraged to praise The Lord for He is good and He is great. (Psalm 135:3 and 5)  It is He who controls the weather and not Mother Nature. (Psalm 135:6-7)  Do not give credit which belongs to Him to anyone or anything.  This world is His, He made it. (Genesis 1:1)  We should not put anything ahead of God.  Nothing should be more important to us than The Lord God.  Most of us spend more time watching television than we do praising The Lord.  He is all powerful and deserves our praise and worship.

PRAISE THE LORD AND LIFT YOUR HANDS IN THE SANCTUARY

Proclamation:

“Praise The Lord, all you servants of The Lord … Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise The Lord.  May The Lord bless you …”  Psalm 134:1-3 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This is the final song of ascent.  It is the song that the children of Israel sang after their journey when they had arrived in the sanctuary.  All of God’s people are to give Him praise and to serve Him.  The preachers, the deacons, and the saints each have a different role in serving The Lord during and outside of the worship services.   

Application:

Where we come from and what we have come through differs, but it is not important because once we have arrived in the sanctuary praising The Lord is our focus.  All believers are servants of The Lord, some just do a little bit more than others.  But this is not a competition, this is about our individual effort to please The Lord.  All of God’s people are not preachers, but as servants of The Lord we all can minister to and help someone.  We all may not sing in the choir, and when we sing we may sing off key, but we can all shout praises to The Lord.  We may not clap on time with the beat, and we may not dance like David, but we can all raise our hands in the sanctuary and give Him praise.  The Lord God knows if our effort to give Him praise is sincere and He will bless us for it.  May The Lord God bless each one of you.

THOUGH I AM LOWLY AND DESPISED I ESTEEM GOD'S WORD

Proclamation:

“Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget Your precepts.  Your righteousness is everlasting and Your law is true.” Psalm 119:141-142 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This is the eighteenth part, Tsadhe, of this twenty-two part psalm.  David starts this part by praising The Lord God and His word. (Psalm 119:137-138)  Then he puts himself down and states the even though he is insignificant, he will remember God’s law because God is righteous and His law is true.

Application:

It has been said that the true test of our faith in God is if we can praise Him when we are down and in the midst of adversity.  King David passes that test. (Psalm 119:143)  We should love and praise The Lord God in good times and bad times because all things work together for the good of them who love Him and work according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)  We should have a zeal, a burning desire and love for The Lord God and for His Holy Word. (Psalm 119:139)  It does not matter how low we are, with respect to our position or state in life, or if others do not esteem us, if we love The Lord God, then He will value us.  A person is not usually held in very high esteem by those who know them or who are close to them. (Matthew 13:57 and Mark 6:4)  In the end, all that matters and is truly important is what The Lord God thinks of us. (Matthew 25:21 and 25:23)