A Psalm of Praise.
[150:1] Praise the LORD!We often are confused by praise. Do I have to raise my hands? Am I suppose to be loud? What is real praise and does everyone do it the same? The answer can be found in the book of Jeremiah. The Hebrew word used for prayer is used five different ways in this book. By looking at how it is used here we will better understand how it applies to us. (The Hebrew word is highlighted in each verse as it is translated. It is the same Hebrew word in each verse.)
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
[2] Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
[3] Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
[4] Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
[5] Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
[6] Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
The first place is Jeremiah 4.2 " And you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will GLORY.” To praise God is to glorify God. This means that we are to aim our praise at God. We need to know that praise can be positive or negative. This is shown in Jeremiah 9.23-24. "Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man BOAST, BOAST of his might, let not a rich man BOAST of his riches; but let him who BOASTS BOASTof this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man ."Here the word for praise is translated as boast. If praise is aimed at a person it is boasting. It should only be given to God. According to Jeremiah 31.7 we are to "Make your PRAISES heard." We cannot and should not be silent with our praise. This is the positive side of praise. True praise cannot be contained. Jeremiah 46.9 uses the word as a reference to the power of praise in our lives. "Charge, O horses! DRIVE FURIOUSLY, O charioteers!" Much like the chariots racing around the track in Ben Hur our praise is an overpowering force. There is also the negative side. If we give our praise to anyone or anything except God it will have a negative effect on our lives. Jeremiah 50.38 says "For it is a land of idols, And they are MAD over fearsome idols." Praise that belongs to God and is give to idols will drive a person mad. From Jeremiah we can see that praise is either positive or negative. Praise cannot be contained and it should not be given to anyone or anything except God.
PRAISE IN HARMONY
- Praise is directing our life toward God. That is one of the reasons that believers gather together each Sunday morning. This allows them to refocus on God and prepare for the upcoming week.
- The direction of our praise determines whether our lives are going in a positive direction or not. As we learned in Jeremiah it can drive you mad if it is focused in the wrong direction.
- Praise cannot be confined to any one place. Praise is proper for the sanctuary, the heavens of God and anyplace in between. Praise should be part of everything we do.
A orchestra has four sections. They are the string, brass, percussion and the woodwinds. An orchestra is a great example of how we are each part in praise to God, but alone we cannot completely praise God. This can be seen in a paraphrase I wrote of 1 Corinthians 12.12-20
The orchestra is a unit, though it is made up of many instruments; and though all its instruments are different, they form one orchestra. So it is with Christ and HIS church. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one orchestra HIS church— no matter our money, or color, or nationality, or education, or talents —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the orchestra is not made up of one instrument but of many. If the trumpet should say, “Because I am not a drum, I do not belong to the orchestra,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the orchestra. And if the violin should say, “Because I am not a flute, I do not belong to the orchestra,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the orchestra. If the whole orchestra were only cymbals, where would the melody be? If the whole orchestra were only tambourines, where would the harmony be? But in fact God has arranged the instruments in the orchestra, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all the same instrument, where would the orchestra be? As it is, there are many instruments, but one orchestra.
- We are all different. The concept that all believers are the same is bogus.
- We are all part of God's plan. Some parts of the orchestra may play more or may be better know but every instrument is needed to make the complete orchestra.
- We are called to work together. Just like an orchestra no one of us plays every part but together we are true praise before God.
"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!" This points to the purpose of every person alive today. Yet many are going mad by praising idols or are boasting about their own abilities. Our goals as believers should be to:
- Unite the world in PRAISE before God. Jesus told us to go and make disciples. This would redirect the boasting and madness of the world back to God as praise.
- Help each one find their personal relationship with God. We as believers need to help non-believers discover God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Direct them toward truth and away form the madness of the world. The world will not know about God unless we teach them and show them the way.
