PRAISE the LORD

Text: Psalm 150

I was introduced to greeting one another with the phrase, “Praise the LORD” at our home church. However, as I contemplated this text I began to realize that praising God is more than just an informal greeting of the saints. The atmosphere and the environment in the house of worship is to glorify God first even when we greet one another. I like what Matthew Henry writes concerning this text:

We are here, with the greatest earnestness imaginable, excited to praise

God; if, as some suppose, this psalm was primarily intended for the

Levites, to stir them up to do their office in the house of the Lord, as

singers and players on instruments, yet we must take it as speaking to us,

who are made to our God spiritual priests. And the repeated inculcating of

the call thus intimates that it is a great and necessary duty, a duty which

we should be much employed and much enlarged in, but which we are

naturally backward to and cold in, and therefore need to be brought to, and held to, by precept upon precept, and line upon line.

Let us consider the subject of Praising the LORD from our text.

I. PRAISE the LORD for HIS MAJESTY

150:1a Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary:

First and foremost it is the LORD we must praise

Not the musicians, not the pastor, not one another

We are to praise the Lord here in this house, his sanctuary

We are to praise Him as the Levite priests did

All who attend here are to lift up our voices in praise

The Psalmist writes:

Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Henry states: Where should he be praised, but there where he does, in a special manner, both manifest his glory and communicate his grace? Praise God upon the account of his sanctuary, and the privileges which we enjoy by having that among us.

Nowhere is His Majesty more present than in his sanctuary

Mathew18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

He is in His sanctuary as He is in His saints.

Praise God in his sanctuary or holy ones (so some read it)(Henry)

Ezekiel prophesies concerning his sanctuary:

Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and

multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for

evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Praise the Lord that he will establish his sanctuary in Israel forever

150:1b praise him in the firmament of his power.

The wonders of creation testify to his almighty power

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

Praise the LORD the ONE who made all things

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing

made that was made.

Praise the LORD as he continues to hold all things in place

Colossians 1:16 -17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Let us praise Him for He is praised in the highest of heaven

Revelation 4:8-11 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to

come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and

were created.

Praise him because of his power and glory which appear in the firmament, its vastness, its brightness, and its splendid furniture; and because of the powerful influences it has upon this earth. (Henry)

150:2a Praise him for his mighty acts:

…for his mightinesses (so the word translates),

Praise Him as you recall instances when he revealed his power

Praise Him for His providence in your life

Praise Him for the power of His grace upon your life

Praise Him for His placement of the powers that be

Praise Him for the redemption brought through Jesus

Praise Him for His church, the children of God

150:2b praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise Him for the Majesty and Glory of His being

according to his excellent greatness translates: multitude, abundance, greatness. (Strong)

Praise Him according to the Magnitude of His Greatness

Not that our praises can bear any proportion to God's greatness, for it is infinite, but, since he is greater than we can express or conceive, we must raise our conceptions and expressions to the highest degree we can attain to. (Henry)

Paul writes in the book of Ephesians:

3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all

that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

II. PRAISE THE LORD with HIS MUSIC

150:3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the

psaltery and harp.

150:4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed

instruments and organs.

150:5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high

sounding cymbals.

The writer of this Psalm indicates his heart for the saints of God

The mode of worship is just as important as the heart of worship

We need to get back to the heart of worship… it’s all about Him!

We must have the heart of the Psalmist to ensure the work goes on

Our service to God must spare no cost or pain

As worship leaders we must have hearts, minds and music prepared

The best music in God’s ears is heartfelt emotions and worship

Not just a melody or two but a melodious hear… in my heart there rings a melody

We may include songs and music which render such worship as:

Praising God with strong faith, love and delight in His presence

Praising God with complete confidence in His love

Praising God for triumph over the powers of darkness

Praising God with desire for and satisfaction with Him

Praising God with the respect due His commandments

Praising God with submission to all of His dispatch of our duties

Praising God in the solace of knowing His great goodness

Praising God by promoting the interests of His kingdom

Praising God with a lively hope and expectation of His appearing

That, various instruments being used in praising God, it should yet be

done with an exact and perfect harmony; they must not hinder, but help

one another. (Henry)

Romans 15:4-6 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

III. PRAISE the LORD with ALL MANKIND

150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the

LORD.

The writer began with a call to the Levites who were in God’s service

He concludes with a call to the children of men

It is a call to the Gentiles, the church and all men everywhere

Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every

place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering:

for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of

hosts.

Some believe it includes the creatures of creation

The singing of birds perhaps is inferred

John in a vision heard a song of praise…

Revelation 5:13-14 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell

down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Now that the gospel is preached, every human being is required to offer praise to the LORD

While we have breath our spirit is must be moved to worship

As we breathe to God in prayer we benefit through praise

Until our final breathe we must continue to Praise the LORD!

Having breath, let the praises of God perfume our breath; let us be in this work as in our element; let it be to us as the air we breathe in, which we could not live without. Having our breath in our nostrils, let us consider that it is still going forth, and will shortly go and not return. Since therefore we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord, and then we shall breathe our last with comfort, and, when death runs us out of breath, we shall remove to a better state to breathe God's praises in a freer better air.