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)

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.

THE LORD IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE

Proclamation:

"Praise The LORD.  How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!"  Psalms 147:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

While there is no agreement as to the human author of this psalm, it is clear that it was written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God.  The psalmist told the people of God that it is good to praise The Lord, and it is good to sing praises to Him.  He said that it is good, fitting, and appropriate to praise The Lord.  After making this statement, he goes on to give a number of reasons to justify why they should praise The Lord. (Psalm 147:2-20)

Application:
The Word of God exhorts us to praise The Lord often and continually. (Psalms 34:1 and 145:2)  We should praise Him where ever we are, in church (Psalms 107:42, Psalms 150:1, and Hebrew 2:12), in our homes (Joshua 24:15), alone and among the people. (Psalms 35:18)  We should also praise The Lord in all that we do. (1 Peter 4:11)  We should not have to be told to praise The Lord, we should do it spontaneously on our own.  He created the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and everything therein. (Genesis 1:14-16 and 24-25)  He crated each of us from the union of two cells. (Psalm 139:13-16)  He heals the brokenhearted and physical wounds.  He makes the clouds to form and supplies the earth with rain.  He is omnipotent, omniscient, and is everywhere all at the same time.  He is worthy of all glory and praise. (2 Samuel 22:4, Psalms 18:3, and Revelation 5:12)  Our God is great and awesome.

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)

The Power Of Prayer And Praise

"After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.  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 everybody's chains came loose."  Acts 16:23-26 (NIV)

These words were recorded, under the influence and direction of The Holy Spirit of God, by Luke, the physician and travelling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Having been thrown into prison for removing the demon spirit from a slave girl, which allowed her to predict the future. (Acts 16:16)  The owners of the slave girl earned a great deal of money because of her unique ability, and they were not happy with Paul and Silas for ending their source of income.  They seized Paul and Silas, turned them over to the authorities for conducting unlawful activities. (Acts 16:19-21)

In spite of their situation and circumstances, being falsely accused, in prison, physically beaten, and locked in the stocks and chains, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God.  In their darkest hour, they praised God.  Their prayers were heard, things began to shake, and their chains came loose, along with the chains of all who were in prison with them.  The jailer was so impressed that he asked them, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"   Then he led them out of the prison to his house, and all in his household were saved. (Acts 16:30-33)  The world is watching to see how believers respond to the events of life.  They make judgments about all believers based upon our behavior.  We are representatives of The Lord God on earth, and we never know who is watching us, or what effect our behavior will have upon them.  Therefore, it behooves us to always act and speak in a Christ-like manner.  There is power in prayer and in praising God, chains can be broken and doors can be opened.  We ought to do both more often, and we ought to give God the glory for the good things which result from our prayers and praise.   

He Is Worthy Of Our Praise

"Praise The LORD.  How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!"  Psalms 147:1 (NIV)

The author of this psalm told the people of God that it is good to praise The Lord, and it is good to sing praises to Him.  He said that it is good, fitting, and appropriate to praise The Lord.  After making this statement, he goes on to give a number of reasons to justify praising The Lord.

The Word of God exhorts us to praise The Lord often and continually. (Psalms 34:1 and 145:2)  We should praise Him where ever we are, in church (Psalms 107:42, Psalms 150:1, and Hebrew 2:12), in our homes (Joshua 24:15), alone and among the people. (Psalms 35:18)  We should also praise The Lord in all that we do. (1 Peter 4:11)  He is worthy of all glory and praise. (2 Samuel 22:4, Psalms 18:3, and Revelation 5:12)  We should not have to be told to praise The Lord, we should do it spontaneously on our own.

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) 

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.  

Praise The Lord

"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 & 4-5 (NIV)

"Praise The Lord. Praise The Lord, O my soul. I will praise The Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." Psalms 146:1-2 (NIV)

"Praise The Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!" Psalms 147:1 (NIV)

"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 (NIV)

"Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy..." Psalms 149:5 (NIV)

"Let everything that has breath praise The Lord. Praise The Lord." Psalms 150:6 (NIV)