Calvary Baptist Church
Food For Thought
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GLORIOUS
PRAISE “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honor of His name: make His praise glorious” (Psalm 66:1, 2). The subject of praise to God is a recurring theme that runs throughout the Bible. You read of it as often in the Old Testament as in the New. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of references to the subject of praise. Since God is the author of the Bible, praise must be a very urgent subject to Him. How many times are men and women encouraged to praise the Lord: “I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised” (2 Samuel 22:4). “I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise unto the name of the Lord most high” (Psalm 7:17). “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15). Our verbal attributes to God will not cease on this planet. Far from it. The magnificent revelation tells us of our extolling Him throughout eternity: “And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great” (Revelation 19:5). I could fill the rest of this message and many more just like it reading similar verses from the Holy Writ. Both Testaments show clearly that our Creator God expects us to audibly, verbally praise Him. And furthermore, our text in Psalm 66 commands us to make such praise glorious! There is never anything shabby or demeaning when it comes to the relationship God has with His people. What is praise anyhow? Is it something worked up in an emotional meeting? Does there have to be fast music and the tapping of feet to get it going? Is it something that only Pentecostal people do? Oh, far from it. “Praise is not Pentecostal; it is Bible---it is for everyone---Pentecostal, Methodist, Catholic, Baptist, Church of Christ, and Missionary Alliance---in fact the entire body of our Savior Redeemer.” The dictionary gives us an insight into the meaning of the word “praise.” It means to acclaim or to express approval of someone or something. When it comes to God that certainly should not be difficult to do. Praise is our verbal appreciation of God’s bountiful provision for us---expressed not only to others, but also primarily and foremost to Him. No one else can do that for you. There can be no vicarious praise on your behalf. Your pastor cannot do it, nor can your choir. God inhabits the praises of His people. You are never nearer God than when you praise Him. And your creator expects you to praise Him regularly (not just on Sunday) and to make that praise of top quality---to make it absolutely glorious! How do you and I do that? How do we praise the Lord in such a manner? Well, there are numerous ways. Our praise is glorious when it comes during difficult times in our lives---when it is costly. I am not speaking of money here. I am speaking of the expenditure of effort and inner value. Two old time missionaries proved it. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25). Ira Stanphil wrote a long time ago, “Anyone can sing when the sun is shining bright, but you need a song in your heart at night.” It isn’t difficult to praise the Lord when you are on top of the world---pavilioned in some spacious hotel on the seashore or a villa on a mountaintop. Almost any old curmudgeon could find something to praise God about there. But---to praise God in a dungeon!---that is a totally different matter again. But Paul and Silas did exactly that! They were ministering in northern Greece, in the great highway city of Philippi, constructed on the Roman road that connected Rome to Istanbul. It was a large, influential city. There the evangelists demonstrated the power of God, real revival broke out, and the demonstration resulted in their being arrested, severely beaten, and imprisoned by an unsympathetic administration. Think of it---for preaching the gospel, their backs were laid open by the cruel whip. It must have been excruciatingly painful. That dank dungeon, in which they were chained at the midnight hour, was pitch black---no treatment for their wounds or guarantee of freedom again, ever. Charles Dickens would have said, “It was the worst of times.” And in that dreadful hour, Paul and Silas decided, by an act of their own will, to praise the Lord. What an amazing reaction. Certainly not the normal one in that prison, I assure you. Why did they do it? Why did they offer praise to God when they were being treated abysmally? They didn’t have to do it. No song leader insisted. It wasn’t on the bulletin. They cannot possibly have “felt” like doing it. It must not have made the slightest bit of sense to their fellow prisoners. So why did they do it? They praised the Lord because they wanted to. Because they knew that there was no offering in the world that would mean more to God. So they praised the Lord---audibly, verbally, and musically---in the most difficult of circumstances. It was glorious. And God sent along a bit of percussion to accompany them---a tremendous earthquake that broke open both the prison and the spiritual apathy of the wicked city. Paul and Silas praised God, not for what they expected to happen, but for what and who God was, even though they themselves were in pain and in chains. Their condition was miserable, but God’s condition was not. They weren’t very happy about the prison, but they were delighted with God. And that is the scriptural equation: “Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires” (Psalm 37:4, Living Bible). Please notice the sequence there. The praise comes first. Results of the praise follow. But the praise is not predicated on the results, but rather on the God of the results. In whatever station of life we find ourselves, we are to delight ourselves in the Lord. Paul had no problem with that. He said that he had known times of prosperity and he had known times of abasement. But God had not changed in either case. He was Paul’s joy and satisfaction. Everything else was far, far down on the list of priorities. Glorious praise means delighting ourselves in the Lord in everything---good or bad! Praise based on our desire is nothing more than manipulation. Our praise is also glorious when it is consistent! God loves consistency, “Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live I will praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being” (Psalm 146: 1, 2). You may be thinking, “Well I praised the Lord in church during worship hour last Sunday.” But did you praise Him while driving to work in the snow on that cold Monday morning? Did you sing praises to the Father even though you knew that you were headed for a desk heaped with enough work for six like you? Praise that is glorious is consistent. We should praise the Lord when our bank account has money left at the end of the month---and when it does not. Our praise should be consistent. Regardless of circumstances---good or bad, we should praise the Lord. Why? Because, even though our circumstances fluctuate wildly from day to day, God never changes! He is the same! “O, thou who changest not, Abide with me,” we sing. God remains consistent and so my adoration and worship of Him, the quality of my praise, will remain the same. My praise will take on the nature and character of Him whom I worship---not the details of life about me. And God blesses that offering of praise. He makes my day more enjoyable, despite circumstances. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3). That is one of my favorite verses in God’s word. We Christian believers often talk about “the joy of the Lord.” Is it real? Or something we dreamed up? Believe me, it is real. I have a friend, pastor of a church in Ohio, who audibly praises God many times daily, regardless of where he might be, loud enough to be heard by passers by, grocery store, restaurant, sidewalk, and other places, he will say, “Praise the Lord.” Strange as that might seem he consistently praises the Lord. He is “practicing the presence of the Lord.” Some snicker, some look at him strangely, others nod their head, he ignores all people’s response and goes his way, and secure in the knowledge that God hears and is pleased. A pastor friend and his wife were having dinner with an outstanding member of the news media in the Middle East. She had never before been exposed to the life of Christ or the ministry of the Holy Spirit. She was shocked at the way they enjoyed life. She expressed her surprise. She said that she had never been around people like them before. He said: “I didn’t know whether it was a complaint or a compliment.” She hurriedly assured the pastor that it was a positive observation. He later received a letter from her in which she said that Christians might really have something after all. Isn’t that exciting? No wonder God exhorts us to praise Him---not just in our hearts, but audibly. Let others know that we believe God to be great and mighty and victorious. It is the most contagious feeling in the world. You see there must be nothing halfhearted about our relationship to God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.” That’s the commandment. With our singing and hands lifted up or clapping in heartfelt appreciation to Him who loved us, with our words, with our thoughts, with our deeds---we praise Him. “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name” (Psalm 63:4). Your glorious praise to God will unstop the rivers that have long been clogged up in your heart. Out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water. We thrill God with our praise and He thrills us with His very life within us. What better relationship can there be in this entire world than that?
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Calvary Baptist Church 7810 St. Joe Center Rd. Fort Wayne, IN 46835 (260) 485-812222 Trouble with this site / email webmaster
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