The preacher may make us laugh, and the songs may make us weep.
The fellowship may warm our souls, and the communion may give us chill bumps. But if God does not enjoy the hour, the service has failed. The goal of worship is to make God “high above all nations, His glory above the heavens” (Psalm 113:4). “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (Psalm 147:1).
A hymn that was likely composed in the Talmudic period expresses our sentiment:
If my lips could sing as many songs as there are waves in the sea;
If my tongue could sing as many hymns as there are ocean billows;
If my mouth filled the whole firmament with praise;
If my face shone like the sun and moon together;
If my hands were to hover in the sky like powerful eagles,
And my feet ran across mountains as swiftly as the deer;
All that would not be enough to pay you fitting tribute,
O Lord my God.1
If we had the tongues of angels, we could not praise God as He deserves to be praised. If we were born speaking praises and had breath never to cease, we could never adequately exalt His name in this life. If every rock could speak, it would praise God. If the stars could sing, their song would be in His honor. If the animals could write, their words would form new praises for their Creator. The very stones would praise Him if the need arose, and a thousand legions of angels would leap to do His will. “Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them” (Psalm 69:34).
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT PRAISING GOD?
The word praise (in various forms) is used 268 times in Scripture. In Old Testament times, God’s people took praising Him seriously. Leah rejoiced at the birth of a son and cried, “Now will I praise the Lord” (Genesis 29:35). So she named the boy “Praise” (Judah).
David organized a whole section of the Levites “to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel” (1 Chronicles 16:4). Hezekiah appointed divisions of priests and Levites “to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 31:2). So much praise went up, that God was said to “be enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3).
After nine silent months, when Zacharias’ tongue was finally loosed, his first words were praise to God (Luke 1:64). We long for the time when it may literally be said, “His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise” (Habakkuk 3:3).
When Jesus was born, both exalted angels and lowly shepherds praised His Father (Luke 2:13, 20). When He died, the very sky above Christ bowed its head in reverent submission. Wherever Jesus went between these events, it seems that men were led to praise God (e.g., Luke 18:43). It seems no accident, therefore, that Jesus came from Judah, the tribe whose very name means “praise” (Genesis 49:10).
Ever since Jesus ascended to the Father, His followers have been “continually in the temple praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:53; cf. Ephesians 3:20–21). The early church praised God and had favor with all the people (Acts 2:47). In a beautiful prophecy, the church is said to have walls called “Salvation,” and gates called “Praise” (Isaiah 60:18).
Christians are to meditate on things worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8), since we have been adopted “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:5–6; cf. Jeremiah 13:11). Our very purpose in life is to proclaim the praises of God (1 Peter 2:9; cf. Isaiah 43:21). God clothes His people with “the garment of praise” (Isaiah 61:3).
WHEN SHOULD GOD BE PRAISED?
God deserves to be praised every day (Psalm 145:2). The Levites praised Him twice a day—in the morning and in the evening (1 Chronicles 23:30). Another praised Him seven times a day (Psalm 119:164). A third topped them all: “From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3). But another’s ambition was to do better: I “will praise You yet more and more” (Psalm 71:14). Paul and Silas sang praises unto God at midnight (Acts 16:25). More to the point of this study, He deserves to be praised on the Lord’s day—Sunday (Acts 20:7)—in public worship: “In the midst of the assembly [church] I will sing praise to You” (Hebrews 2:12). We should not forsake His worship (Hebrews 10:25).
WHY SHOULD WE PRAISE GOD?
We should praise God for who He is. Young people sing a song that goes, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall l be saved from my enemies” (2 Samuel 22:4). Those who have learned of Jehovah agree: “The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods” (1 Chronicles 16:25). A wise man wondered, “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11). We praise God for His power (Psalm 21:13). We praise the Lord for the beauty of His holiness (2 Chronicles 20:21) and for His goodness and mercy (Ezra 3:11; Jeremiah 33:11).
The very purpose of life might be summed up as: “Proclaim the praises” of God (1 Peter 2:9).
We should praise God for what He has done. “Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness” (Psalm 150:2).
He has made us: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14).
He has delivered us (Exodus 15:1–11; 2 Samuel 22:49–50; Jeremiah 20:13). When Israel’s children learned that God had heard their cry and had sent a deliverer (Moses), they “bowed their heads and worshiped” (Exodus 4:31). When Moses learned that God kept “mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,” he “made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped” (Exodus 34:7–8). Worship, distilled, is thanksgiving for salvation (Psalm 69:30–32; 86:5, 15; 92:1–8; 95:1–7; 100:4).
He has blessed us. When we take time to count our blessings (James 1:17), it makes us worshipful. It is an unthankful heart that shuns worship. When the eldest servant of Abraham’s house played matchmaker for young Isaac, he devised a plan to determine which girl the Lord approved. When the sign was given, with thankful heart he “bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord’’ (Genesis 24:26, 48, 52).
He has given us His truth (Psalm 138:2). “In God I will praise His word” (Psalm 56:4). “I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth” (Isaiah 25:1).
He has answered our prayers (Psalm 118:21). So, “praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples” (Romans 15:11). “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God” (Hebrews 13:15).
Join us Sunday as we exalt the name of the Lord!
Endnote
1 https://soulstream.org/a-jewish-prayer/
