EFFECTIVENESS OF PRAISE IN WORSHIP!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MAY 14, 2022.

SUBJECT: EFFECTIVENESS OF PRAISE IN WORSHIP!

Memory verse: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised (Psalms 48 vs 1). 

READ: Psalm 145 vs 1 - 8:

145:1: I will exalt You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 145:2: Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. 

145:3: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. 145:4: One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. 

145:5: I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and of Your wondrous works. 

145:6: Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. 

145:7: They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.

145:8: The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

INTIMATION:

Praise is to worship, commend, or give honor to; an expression of the same. Praise, in the context of our discuss, is expressing to God our appreciation and understanding of His worth. It is the expression to God of our admiration, appreciation, thanks, approval, and understanding of what He is and what He did and is doing; His creation, His blessings, His forgiveness. It is also to give great honor, and thanks to God for each aspect of God's divine nature—loving, just, faithful, forgiving, patient, and the revelation of Himself to us. 

Praise is an outward expression of our inward attitude. When we praise God we help ourselves by expanding our awareness of who He is. Our inward attitude becomes outward expression. Praise is vocal, it is uttered and should be offered in proportion to God's own Person. He is great—great in wisdom, great in power, great in His creative works, great in His redemptive acts and great in His dealings with us. Everything that God does is great and therefore should be greatly praised. Therefore, considering all that God has done and does for us, what could be more natural than outbursts of heartfelt praise? 

The worship of praise first puts us in the right frame of mind to tell about our needs. It puts God first in our conception. Consequently, praise takes our minds off our problems and shortcomings and helps us focus on God and His Majesty. Eventually, it causes us to consider and appreciate God's character. Praise lifts our perspective from the earthly to the heavenly, therefore, prepares our hearts to receive God's love and power of His Holy Spirit. Above all, Praise brings God down in His Might to attend personally to our situation. Praise leads us from individual meditation to corporate worship.

Praise is exceedingly pleasing to God because it is doing to Him what He cannot do to Himself. Incidentally, when you praise Him, He comes to receive the praise Himself. The Scripture, in Psalm 22 vs 3, says, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel." He comes down in His Might and Power to attend to our praise to Him, and on His appearing, all things are turned around.

God's enthronement on the praises of His people was showcased when Paul and Silas were in jail in Philippi, where the jailor thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight they prayed, and sang praises unto God. The Great God showed up in His Might, in response to the praise of His children: "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." (Acts 16 vs 26.)

God is glorified by all humanity because of His care for His people. The devoted saint continually has the praise of God on his mind. The righteous speak of God’s miraculous works that He has done throughout history. A song of praise will continually be on the lips of the righteous. Praise should be continuously offered to God as a sacrifice. In so doing you will realize that you won't take His blessings for granted. Praise God first in your worship, then you will be prepared to present your needs to Him. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that I may praise You all the days of my life for who You are, and all You do, in Jesus name, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!