The Practicalities of Praise
August 22, 2021 MW
Acadiana BC
THE PRACTICALITIES OF PRAISE
Psalm 103:1-5
INTRODUCTION:
The exact history and background of this Psalm is unclear, but what is certain is that David wants to praise God for all that He has done. He speaks of God’s personal blessings (vs. 1-5), God’s national blessings (vs. 6-7), God’s forgiving love (vs. 8-14), God’s eternal love (vs. 15-18), and ends with a universal call for everyone to praise the Lord! As David begins to recall all of these things, he is overwhelmed with praise. David calls upon himself to praise God for all of the, “benefits” that God has given him. There are two things about his praise that we need to note: his praise is pure (vs. 1-2), his soul is involved, and his praise is abundant, all that is within him.
What does it mean to praise? Praise is defined as a willful glorying of God because of an overjoyed heart. What does praise look like? There are several words that mean praise in the OT, but we will look at three briefly: Halal, Tehillah, Zamar.
• Halal is familiar because it’s the root word for hallelujah. to be clear, to be brilliant…to brightness of light; to make a show; to be foolish…” Imagine a gathering that makes it clear who we worship, shining the spotlight on our God in such a way that we are actually a bit “foolish” while doing it.
• Tehillah means to praise vocally in song or shouts. It is the singing aspect of it. It literally means to be louder about God than we are about ourselves.
• Zamar means to praise with instruments alone or with voices. In the scriptures stringed instruments, cymbals and horns were all used. Decent and in order is God’s command for musical worship.
When you put all of these things together, it is descriptive of what we do doing the singing portion of our service! Be engaged in singing to the Lord!
Praise is never passive, boring, dull, or inexpressive. To come to church and settle into a comfortable seat, cross your arms, and be smug by not participating in singing, shouting, or verbalizing praise is to fail greatly in our worship. Praise is
always exciting, expressive, exalting, enthusiastic, energetic!
We are commanded to praise God and we should WANT to praise Him! Consider Hebrews 2:12, 13:5…
When it comes to praise, God deserves our praise, and He alone is WORTHY of our praise HOWEVER He is not changed by our praise! Praise is for OUR benefit, NOT God’s benefit! When we praise…
• Our eyes are opened up. (in the spiritual sense to see God more clearly)
• Our minds are woken up. (from spiritual slumber and worldly desensitization)
• Our heads are lifted up. (from discouragement and disappointment)
• Our hearts are filled up. (with joy, peace, and satisfaction)
• Our sin is given up. (through submission, surrender, and repentance)
• Our cares and anxieties are cast up. (through trust in God’s love)
• Our souls and broken spirits are healed up. (from sin, pain, and sorrow)
• Our faith is shored up. (or built up and bolstered)
• Our fellowship is linked up. (through unity in the church)
BIG IDEA:
When we praise God, we should exalt Him above all else.
In our text, we are reminded of a few reasons that will cause us to WANT to give God praise…
BODY:
I. FORGIVENESS vs. 3
A. “all thine iniquities” vs. 12
1. complete forgiveness
2. continual forgiveness
a. iniquity
b. transgressions
B. “healeth all thy diseases”
SOMETIMES physical…ALWAYS spiritual
II. FREEDOM vs. 4
Note: We are made free by the blood of Jesus but what are we made free from?
A. Free from the Weight of Everlasting Destruction
1. the reality of hell
2. the redemption of Jesus
B. Free from the Weight of Life’s Burdens
“All of life is tempered by the grace of God.”
1. lovingkindness 2 Corinthians 12:7-10—we have God’s grace for EVERY step of the way.
2. tender mercies—picture a loving father meeting the needs of his children.
III. FULNESS vs. 5
Note: If anyone has reasons to praise the Lord it is us because of all these things…listen, Jesus FILLS you up!
A. He Satisfies Us
world offers death Jesus offers life
world delivers pain, Jesus brings peace
world delivers heartaches, Jesus offers healing
B. He Strengthens Us
1. gives power to run the race
2. gives power to fight the fight
3. gives power to live the life
CONCLUSION:
Is He getting the praise He deserves from your life? May we all determine in our hearts that we will praise Him with our lips, our lives and with the labor of our hands. He is worthy and He deserves all the praise we can give Him!
We have so many reasons to praise the Lord but, we only need one…Jesus! Do you know him?