Who Can Praise the Lord?

Psalm 148

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for stoping by on this holiday!

On a day like today, we need to be clear on a couple of key things:

We have a lot to praise God for! (See previous posts for some of these.)
We are a part of the people that this praise is to come from.

For this second point, we’re going to look at Psalm 148. This Psalm answers one of the most fundamental questions about praise: Who should do the praising?

Who Should Praise?

A quick read through this psalm would yield a pretty long list of people and things that are to praise God. Including angels, the sun, moon, stars, oceans, elements of weather, geographical features, trees, animals, and people from every age and station of life are to praise the LORD.

To boil this down into one simple application: You are to praise the LORD.

The fact that nature Praises God should be a challenge to mankind.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.”
Psalm 19:1

The heavens and earth declare God’s glory and point to His character. Why shouldn’t I? Why shouldn’t you?

Why Should we Praise?

This psalm, like many others, gives a small sample of things we can praise God for. These are seen in two parts

God’s Act of Creation

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord: For he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Psalm 148:5–6

God’s command was all that was needed to create all that we see in this world. What a Mighty God!

God’s Name and Glory

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord: 
For his name alone is excellent; 
His glory is above the earth and heaven. 
14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, 
The praise of all his saints; 
Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. 
Praise ye the Lord. 
Psalm 148:13–14

The more we know about God’s name and glory the more natural praise becomes. His name and glory are unmatched, and yet He exalts His people (specifically Israel in this context.)

Your Turn

“Praise ye the LORD.”

This statement, this command begins and ends Psalm 148.

Take it to heart. If the rocks and trees, the birds and flowers are praising God right now can’t you?

“Praise ye the LORD.”

God’s Holiness Prompts Praise

Psalm 99

I’ve been saving this Psalm. It’s been one I have come back to to reread over the last couple months.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have routinely come to God in praise because of what Has done for me or given to me, but only in the last few years have I learned to Praise God for Who He IS.

God’s Holiness is one of the greatest reasons we have to praise Him

Before we look at some things that have stood out to me about praise from this psalm, please take a few minutes and read Psalm 99.

God’s Name is Holy

“Let them praise thy great and terrible name; For it is holy.” 
Psalm 99:3

God’s name is a symbol of His greatness. Israel was commanded to not use God’s name in vain (Ex 20:7). God’s greatness and God’s Holiness are tied together.

Even for believers today, how did Jesus teach us to pray? “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Mt 6:9b) Jesus wanted us to pray that God’s name would be seen as Holy.

We can maintain our view of God’s Holiness by how we treat His name. As Christians we claim the name of Christ, how we live reflects on God’s name.

God is a Holy Judge

“Exalt ye the Lord our God, And worship at his footstool; For he is holy.” 
Psalm 99:5

The footstool here is referring to the world that God made.

“Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? Isaiah 66:1

God is the judge of all that He has created (Ps 99:4). He will judge in equity and in doing so will further illustrate His perfect Holiness.

God’s Grace in His Holiness

God is Holy. Perfectly Holy. But He is just as gracious.

6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, 
And Samuel among them that call upon his name; 
They called upon the Lord, and he answered them. 
7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: 
They kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them. 
8 Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God: 
Thou wast a God that forgavest them, 
Though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. 
9 Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at his holy hill; 
For the Lord our God is holy. 
Psalm 99:6–9

This Psalm has acknowledged God’s Holiness and then it goes one to talk about the men who God invited into his presence. Do you remember Moses, Aaron, and Samuel? God talked to these men like He talk to few other humans in all of history.

How perfect were these men to have earned this place? Not perfect at all.

This is God’s grace.

This truth is why I am drawn to this Psalm: God is perfectly Holy, I am a regular human being. Yet just as these men knew God’s Holiness and knew fellowship with Him, you and I can too.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” 
Hebrews 4:16

Your Turn

Praise God for His perfect Holiness.

Know God’s grace by enjoying His presence. Come to Him Boldly in prayer and praise.

He has graciously made the way of access to Him and without tarnishing His Holiness God invites believers to fellowship with Him.

This won’t always be a comfortable experience. Just as Isaiah when we saw the throne room of God (Isaiah 6), we will be aware of our impurity in contrast to God’s Holiness. Don’t hide from that light like Adam and Eve hid, seek God’s cleansing, and come boldly before the throne of Grace.

Praise is Good

Psalm 92

The title to Psalm 92 stuck with me: “A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day.” Psalm 92 was written to be sung on the Jewish day of rest. The day that was modeled after God’s day of rest when He has completed His work in creation (Gen 2:2-3).

Do you want to be Happy in your work?

Do you long for Victory?

Take a couple of minutes to read Psalm 92, then come back and we’ll look at the connection between these things and praise.

Paise is Good

We like to give thanks when we have time for it. We like to sing songs of worship at church or if we’re having a happy day. But is thanksgiving and praise still good when we’re busy, stressed, sad?

“1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, 
And to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: 
2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, 
And thy faithfulness every night, 
3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; 
Upon the harp with a solemn sound.” 
Psalm 92:1–3

Would you agree that praising God is good? Would you agree that it’s a worthy use of time and effort? Do you ever neglect the praise of God? I have. Some days, I do. What are the days you most often forget to praise God? Are they your busiest days? Saddest days? Happiest days?

These questions aren’t meant to make anyone feel bad. The answers show us the priority this “good thing” gets in our lives.

What’s worse is that I have discovered that I most often neglect giving thanks and praise when I am the busiest for God, or on days when I have a greater opportunity to rest.

I think we miss some of the blessings of thanksgiving and praise when we limit it to just when we feel like it.

This psalmist knew it was good to give thanks and to sing praise. He knew it was good in the morning and at night. He knew that these songs of praise would be good when they were accompanied by many kinds of instruments.

Look for God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness every day.

God Gives Progress

Perspective is key here.

God gives progress. Look at how the psalmist expresses this:

"For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: 
I will triumph in the works of thy hands.” 
Psalm 92:4

Our gladness and sense of accomplishment aren’t tied to just what we get done, but in the fact that God is working. Our victory isn’t contingent on our individual success, but in the works of God’s hands.

Your Turn

We are focused on giving thanks this time of year. We have a couple of holidays coming up in the United States that naturally lend themselves to thinking about how God has blessed. In this time we can more easily see how God is working. So, let’s use this time to help us build a habit of praise. Here’s your challenge. Before you let yourself doom scroll Facebook or Twitter:

Open your Bible to see how God works

Read the psalms or really any passage of scripture. Keep your eyes open to how God is working. Look for His attributes, names, and gifts to mankind.

Write down some things that you are thankful for

Focus on praising God for His many gifts, His names, His attributes. Don’t miss the little things. God’s goodness surrounds us each and every day.

Listen to and Sing Songs of Praise

There are many, many songs and hymns of praise that fit with Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Choose a few of these and make them easy to access. Music is a great way to help us see God’s greatness.

Stillness in Praise

Psalm 46

I don’t know about you but 2020 has been one of the weirdest years of my life. Many memes could be used here to help you understand where I’m coming from, but my guess is you feel the same.

The thing about 2020 that has been the hardest wrap my head around is how hurried I feel, and how chaotic the world seems, even though I’ve probably spent more time at home this year than any year since I was a kid. And a lot of what seems like the ever-presence of bad news.

Take a minute to ready Psalm 46, then come back to this post.

Did you get a sense of the tumult that the psalmists were seeing? I’m sure you did. But did you also see the deep confidence that they showed in God?

In these verses are some valuable lessons on “Stillness in Praise.”

Acknowledge the Noise

Whatever struggles the psalmists were facing they didn’t hide from it. They knew there was noise and upheaval.

“2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, 
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, 
Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.” 
Psalm 46:2–3

Seeing and Acknowledging is not the same thing as fearing.

We can learn something from this. It’s ok to acknowledge that things are weird. It’s even good to admit when things look bad. This is not fear.

Choose Stillness

These men were writing in or shortly after a time of great noise and difficulty, yet notice their focus:

“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” 
Psalm 46:1

“The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” 
Psalm 46:11

They focused on the fact that God was with them. They Chose Stillness in the knowledge that the LORD is God.

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” 
Psalm 46:10

We have this same choice. We can’t always control how things are going around us, but we can control how we respond to those things.

We can Choose Stillness.

Practice Stillness

Choosing Stillness is also a Practice. We won’t default to stillness, panic and fear are the human defaults. But just as we’ve been seeing with Praise, we can practice stillness.

How does this Look?

Know God

Learn about God. Immerse yourself in scripture. This blog has made some good recommendations for how to start on that, but the short version is this: Start a daily Bible reading habit, and grow in Scripture memorization and meditation.

Practice God’s Presence

Throughout your day, talk to God. Think through your actions like a conversation with God on how to live. He is there, live like it.

I don’t mean this to cause shame or guilt, though we may also have to confess somethings and repent in this process. The presence of God brought these psalmists great comfort and confidence, and the more I practice living conscious of God’s presence the more I know the comfort and confidence it brings.

Your Turn

Memorize Psalm 46:10-11. When the noise of life feels like it’s going to overwhelm you remember these verses and take refuge in the Stillness God’s presence provides.

Praise Today!

Psalm 95

We have many reasons to praise God: His Love, Holiness, Justice, and Peace are enough to keep us occupied in praise. Then when we think of all the things He does for us, how could we do anything but praise Him? But it’s possible.

Sometimes in spite of the abundance of God’s grace, we fail to kneel in humble worship or stand and lift our voices in praise.

This is what on the mind of the writer of Psalm 95. This psalm is a call to come to God in worship.

“1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.” 
Psalm 95:1-2

Reasons for Praise

As ever, there are are a multitude of reasons to praise God. The psalmist gives us these as reasons to praise God:

“3 For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods. 
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: The strength of the hills is his also. 
5 The sea is his, and he made it: And his hands formed the dry land.” 
Psalm 95:3-5

Invitation to Praise

The psalmist then gives an invitation to praise:

“6 O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the Lord our maker. 
7 For he is our God; And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand…” 
Psalm 95:6-7a

This invitation is simple, “Come and worship!”

With all that God has been seen to be and all that He has done this should be the natural response, and for anyone that may not be sure what to do the invitation includes some basic instructions: “worship,” “kneel,” and ”bow down.” This is worship in humility.

Caution Against Hardening Their Hearts

But there is a concern in his mind as he pens these words. Concern for those who may not accept this invitation.

“…To day if ye will hear his voice, 
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, And as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, Proved me, and saw my work. 
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, And they have not known my ways: 
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath That they should not enter into my rest.” 
Psalm 95:7b-11

Israel had rejected God. He knew their history. God had cared for them in their journey from Egypt to the promised land, but at the entrance to the promised land, they gave into fear and rejected God’s invitation of victory and rest. That whole generation wandered in the wilderness for the rest of their lives and after their death, their children claimed God’s victory.

Application

You and I will find ourselves in different circumstances than these Israelites. However, the truth remains. We may only have today to praise God. We may only have today to walk in faith and not in fear.

Choosing to not praise God for the great things He has done is dangerous. In not praising Him we harden our hearts to the great, faith-building things Has done for us.

Your Turn

Today!

Don’t miss the importance of today. How will you worship and praise God today? How will you choose faith over fear today?

Take up this invitation to worship TODAY.

Get down on your knees and worship God for Who He Is and for all He does.

Then get up and give your voice to praise Him. This doesn’t have to be in a goofy way: tell a family member or friend about some of the ways God has blessed you. Humbly give God all the credit He deserves.

Share this post with others as a reminder of the invitation to Praise and Worship God.

The Lord Reigns Supreme

Psalm 93

Ever notice that nothing lasts very long?

You may be noticing the days are getting shorter and colder. That won’t last. Here, in a few months, the days will be noticeably longer and warmer.

We see changes in people as well. We all get older, eventually, we will all pass away. Our friend circles change as we go through life. New ones come, we enjoy their fellowship, others will move away.

For all that is temporary and changeable in this life, we can be sure of a few things never changing. Psalm 93 highlights some of these things, giving us some great reasons to Praise God.

The Lord Reigns

“The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; 
The Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: 
The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.” 
Psalm 93:1

Don’t pass by the statement “The Lord reigneth” too quickly.

God is in charge. He is on His throne. He is dressed in the royal, divine garments of majesty and strength. He made the world over which He is the supreme ruler.

This verse is a constant source of strength for those who look to God for true leadership. While we get bogged down in “office drama”, church business, and political elections; God is in charge of everything.

The Lord will Reign Forever

“Thy throne is established of old: 
Thou art from everlasting.” 
Psalm 93:2

God’s throne, His right to rule was established “of old” He is from “everlasting.” God doesn’t belong to our time, He created time. While we view things in a matter of days, months, and years; God sees all of eternity and is on His throne ruling over it all.

Verse 2 may properly fall with verse 1 in a breakdown of the passage. I wanted to separate it to emphasize: God will reign FOREVER.

The Peoples of the Earth Cannot Dethrone God

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, 
The floods have lifted up their voice; 
The floods lift up their waves. 
4 The Lord on high is mightier 
Than the noise of many waters, 
Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 
Psalm 93:3–4

The concept of floods, waters, and waves is used in Biblical poetry to signify the nations of men. The number of people in a nation or the count of an army was a sign of strength and prestige. There are many battles in history where the victor was simply the side that had more troops.

God is not impressed by the numbers of men. He made them, and values each and every life, but they can do nothing to dethrone Him.

Even in our own lives, our efforts to depose God from His place of supreme authority will fail.

We can be Sure of God’s Word

“Thy testimonies are very sure: 
Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.” 
Psalm 93:5

The testimonies, the written record of God’s work with men, are very sure. This is a great thought to end such a victorious Psalm. Now that we know God’s eternal, majestic, supreme rule why would we not want to know Him? We learn of His character in His Word.

Your Turn

Consider

Take a minute to think through the areas of your life where you feel you’ve lost control. This can be hard. Be honest. Write down what you find.

Pray

Turn these things over to the ruler of the universe. You may not be able to do this all at once but remember: God is already in charge of all creation, you can trust Him in these areas.

Learn

Seek God in His word. I love how the Psalms give a picture of God’s interactions with men. They speak in emotional terms that can sometimes more easily connect with our hearts. Begin by reading this Psalm, then start at the beginning, and with every verse and page look for Who God is. It won’t be hard to find.

Praise

Take a minute to praise God for being the supreme ruler of the universe.

Commit to Praise The LORD

Psalm 145

There are times when I feel more like praising God than other times. I may see an answer to prayer and be immediately called to praise by the greatness God has shown me. Or I may be having a “Monday.” You know, not a bad day, but not a day that makes you jump out of your skin with praise for the Almighty.

This Psalm of Praise caught my attention. God’s people have a reason to praise every day, whether we feel like it or not. This the last of the Psalms attributed to David. It’s almost like this Psalm was a Hymn expressing the training in praise that David had gone through.

Training helps us to carry out important tasks with excellence. Training helps us to plan ahead, and decide in advance how we will act and respond. This psalm will help us to “train” for this praise.

I hope you aren’t new to praise, but new or not I’m going to try and approach this subject very simply. We all need to be reminded of the basics once in a while.

David’s Commitment to Praise God (v. 1-2)

“1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; 
And I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 
2 Every day will I bless thee; 
And I will praise thy name for ever and ever.” 
Psalm 145:1–2

“Extol” means to lift up. David is committing to lift up his God. How will he do this? By blessing God’s name, and praising Him.

This was David’s commitment. Will you make it your commitment, today?

God’s Attributes are a Motivation of this Praise (v. 3-13)

David praises God first for all the things that God IS.

Whether we feel like praising God or not, God’s attributes are reason enough to praise Him. An attribute is a quality or characteristic part of someone. These are the character traits or dispositions that are indistinguishable from who the person is.

What Attributes of God are mentioned in these verses? Take a few minutes, read this Psalm, and write down all the attributes of God that you see in it. (You’ll see my list below. Writing your own will help you in the process of training to Praise God.)

Here are the Attributes I saw and wrote down when I was reading through this Psalm a few weeks ago:

Greatness
Might (“mighty acts”)
Goodness
Righteousness
Compassion
Mercy
Power
Everlasting (He has no beginning or end.)

How God Meets Needs is a Motivation for Praise (v. 14-20)

There are things that God does for us that we can and should praise Him for. This section covers some general segments of these.

God supports those who are weak and raises up those who are getting weak. v. 14
God supplies the needs of all. v.15-16
The LORD is near to those who call on Him. v.18
- What a blessing to know that God is near! Often on days when I don’t feel like praising God, I have also lost sight of how near He is.
He will fulfill and deliver those who fear Him. v.19
The LORD will preserve those that love Him, He will also destroy the wicked. v.20

Final Commitment to Praise (v. 21)

“My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: 
And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.” 
Psalm 145:21

David closes the Psalm by reiterating his commitment to Praise God, and a call for all to Praise God.

Your Turn

Read Psalm 145

Note all the ways that David praises God.

Make a list of God’s attributes.

Begin a list of how God is working in your life.

Plan ahead to praise God. He is worthy, whether we feel like it or not.

Share with family, friends and social media some of the things for which you are praising God.

The Most Important Thing

You walk in to church, this meeting is going to be different you’ve decided that you’re going to do the most important thing first, then the next most important thing, then the next…

So you walk right past all your friends, you bypass the coffee table, and you start. You’re not listening to announcements or reaching for a hymnal. You bow your head and with the rest of the congregation you start praying. This prayer is meaningful, not quick and formal. You pray for each other, then for lost people around you to be saved. Then you pray for your government officials by name, even the ones you don’t like.

You see, if we take the Biblical approach to church meetings the most important thing we do is pray.

1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
1 Timothy 2:1–2

First of All

I like the focus of this statement, “first of all.” While there are lots of things we can (and should) do in church meetings, this one is first. First in priority if not in order of service. While I don’t think this post will prompt all church attendees to stop talking to each other before church, I hope I can remind you in the next few paragraphs of the great value of prayer.

Pray, pray, pray, pray

This passage points out four areas of prayer, or kinds of prayer. Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions, and Giving Thanks.

Think through these when you’re praying. I know personally I can get a bit self-focused in prayer (supplication), when I really need to be praying for others (intercession) or praising God for all that He has done for me (giving of thanks).

Even when praying as a church we can be in seasons of difficulty where we wouldn’t naturally consider thanksgiving, or when we are blessed and praising but don’t bear the burdens of others in Intercession.

How To Make it Important

Application comes down to personal choices. In personal prayer make the time to pray meaningfully. Make this time as early in the day as you can. This is never easy, but it’s worth it. (More could be said about this but I’ll hold off for a future post.)

In church, don’t let prayer become rote or obligatory. Prayer isn’t a transition between things in the order of service, prayer is talking to The Almighty, prayer answering God Who knows when you’re just going through the motions.

When you pray publicly, pray to God. Don’t pray for the approval of anyone else hearing. Their approval is fleeting. God is looking for faithful sincerity.

What about you?

Write in the comments below: How do you do your personal prayer time? How has your church applied this teaching that you think might be helpful to others?