Everything that has breath – Part 3
April 16th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens
Image from Bible Picture Gallery
Yesterday as we continued our discussion of true praise and worship, I gave a quote from Talk Thru the Bible about the book of Psalms. Remember this part?
God is worthy of all praise because of who He is, what He has done, and what He will do.
Yesterday we defined “praise” and “worship” more fully. Now let’s see some true praise in action in Psalm 33:1-11.
First, this Psalm starts out with a call for praise in various expressions:
Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
We’ve got shouting, singing, playing instruments – this is quite a party! Now, I do want to pause here and point out that singing and playing instruments are what usually come to mind in praise, but the Psalms include all kinds of different forms of praise including (but not limited to):
• Telling of His wonders, praises, salvation
• Giving thanks to Him publicly
• Declaring His righteousness to the younger generations
• Shouting for joy
• Confession of sin and thanking Him for His forgiveness
Now, back to Psalm 33 – what are we praising Him for?
For the word of the LORD is upright,
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
Why praise Him?
• He is holy
• He is faithful
• He is righteous
• He is just
• He shows His grace and lovingkindness to all creation
• He made everything with a word!
• He is sovereign over all the affairs of men
• His nature and Word remain forever, even as man comes and goes
You could make quite a lengthy list if you read through the Psalms and record all the things for which God is praised.
Remember, true praise is not centered on us and how we feel – true praise springs from knowing who God is and lifting Him up, shining a light on Him, exclaiming publicly, “How great is our God!”
I hope it jumped out to you in yesterday’s post that there is a close tie between fearing God and worshipping Him. True worship comes from seeing who our God really is and bowing before Him, submitting ourselves to Him, showing Him the reverence He is due. Does that seem out of sorts with shouting, dancing, and singing His praise? It’s not!
Psalm 2:11 is an interesting verse -
Worship the LORD with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Even in our rejoicing, we should be trembling before Him! True praise and worship must be rooted in Truth, and to behold God for Who He is must compel us to fear Him, even as we praise Him with all that we are.
Consider the scene of the worship in heaven in Revelation 15:3-4
And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and marvelous are Your works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
King of the nations!
“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”
This verse is so powerful. Who will not fear you, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy! If we caught just a glimpse of the fullness of who God is, the only response is to fear Him and simultaneously praise Him for His works, for His ways, for the glory of His name.
Tomorrow we’ll spend some time looking at Psalm 50, which is a sobering reminder that we can do all the right things in our quest to praise and worship God, and fall into a ritual rather than offering a true sacrifice of thanksgiving. On the flip side, we can become hardened and rebellious against God and glibly repeat truth with hearts full of evil, leading us to an assumption that God is just like us.
Oh, Lord, show us your glory! Cause us to fear you and give you the true praise and worship that you alone deserve!
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen ” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
Revelations 5:12-14
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- Posted in Fear of God, Praise and Worship, Psalms
