“…the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40)
Don’t wait for rocks to break out in song.
All across the pages of the Bible, we’re called to lift up praise to the Lord our God. In the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the two words translated into “Praise the Lord” are bound into one familiar word: Hallelujah! To “hallal” is to joyfully lift up, sing out, or make known our sincere thanks, honor, adoration, and praise. The direction of our praise is not merely to another human, but to the LORD – Yahweh (combined as “jah”). Our belief in God causes us to overflow with rejoicing for who He is and what He has done.
Don’t just praise Him in the shower.
I enjoy singing in my truck and in the shower probably more than the average Joe. Yet while personal moments of praise are important, it’s vital to notice that nearly all the biblical commands to praise the Lord are plural collective (except for Psalm 146:1; 147:2). Say what? This simply means God intends for our praise to be a public, congregational gathering of voices and hearts. Together as the redeemed children of God, we are called for assembly – that’s the basic meaning of the word ecclesia, in fact. God delights in the praises of His people together. As one local assembly – Mayfair Bible Church – our faithful participation is essential to the exaltation of God our Savior and the edification of one another. God works uniquely through the gathered praises of His people.
Don’t limit your praise to singing.
A brief survey of the Psalms and poetic portions of the prophets gives proof that there are many ways to praise God. God beckons us to express our whole being in thanksgiving to Him: “…praise could involve choirs and musical instruments . . . It could be expressed in speaking (Jer. 31:7), singing (Psa. 69:30), and with dancing (Psa. 149:3).” (Harris, Archer, Waltke in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 218). When a news reporter is on the warpath for all the details of a great story, he or she needs to probe with all the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and Wherefore questions. Well, in simple yet beautiful form, Psalm 150 answers those questions about our call to praise. Take a look!
Praise the LORD! (the What and the Who!)
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse. (The Where!)
Praise Him for His mighty deeds; (The Why)
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. (The How!)
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals. (The Way and How!)Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” (The Wherefore and the Who!)
So as we prepare our hearts for worship this Sunday morning at Mayfair Bible Church… Let’s remember the significance of our collective gathering. Pause over the words of Psalm 150 and then put them into motion this Lord’s Day. And may we pray that our praise is a sweet and pleasing aroma to God our Savior.
Is He worthy? Oh yes, He is.
