Psalms that Pspeak – Psalm 148/150 – Praise Today’s talk is about one thing. Praise the Lord. There is a song in the universe… Isaiah 6:1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Revelation 5:11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” It’s a mighty chorus of praise. It’s a worship service louder than any rock concert. It’s joined by every living creature. Psalm 148 1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! 2 Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! 3 Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! 4 Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! 5 Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. 6 He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, 8 fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, 11 kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, 12 young men and young women, old men and children. 13 Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! 14 He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones— the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord! Psalm 150 1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! 2 Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! 3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! 4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! 5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. 6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! First of all, there is the who we are to praise. Psalm 148: 1 Praise the Lord! 5 Let every created thing give praise to the Lord… Psalm 150:2 Praise his unequaled greatness. Second of all, there is the who that ought to give praise. Thirdly, we are told why to praise. And fourthly, we are told how to praise. So, are you part of the heavenly chorus, the worldwide song that is praising God? This praise to the Lord on your lips? What is especially interesting is that we are commanded to praise In Isaiah 43 there is a beautiful passage that reflects God’s greatness and part of his greatness is his desire to bring his greatness into your life, into your space where you live. But this passage says something rather curious. It starts out with something very affirming; Isaiah 43:4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you… And then it says this… 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” God says that we were created for his glory. What is God’s glory? God’s glory is the beauty of his infinite perfections – the perfections that make him good and satisfying and delightful. These perfections of God are ultimate and make him unlike anyone or anything else. Created for his glory means that we are satisfied in God; we treasure him, we prioritize him and we delight in him. Our struggle is that we don’t want to live for God’s glory, we want to live for our own glory. Jesus was tempted with this very thing. Luke 4:5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4:8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Worship is giving yourself to the thing that you have declared to be the most worthy thing in your life. And worship has the element of serving to it. Whatever you worship is what you serve. Whatever is of greatest worth to you with your priorities, with your money, with your time, with your planning is what you worship. We are all worshiping something. Something is captured our attention and captured our heart and we are going after it. Whatever that is, that is what we worship. Your hands will raise to whatever you praise you’re on your feet for what makes your heart beat you will lift your voice for what makes you rejoice you will lose your cool and even dance like a fool for that one thing that makes your heart sing. So, are you part of the heavenly chorus, the universe wide song that is praising God? Are you singing with the Angels, “you are worthy?” Psalm 148:1 Praise the Lord. Psalm 150:1 Praise the Lord. Psalm 103 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Many of us today are conditional praisers. We want our praise to be optional. But he is worthy of praise. Even if he doesn’t meet your conditions. He is worthy because he has created everything. And he sustains everything. He is worthy of praise because he simply makes a decree and everything comes into existence. Nothing else was needed. There are actions to worship… When we worship we are to bow down. Worship is singing fresh new songs to bless God. Worship is kneeling down and surrendering. Worship recounting who God is and what he is done. Worship is boasting in God. Worship is done with fear and reverence at times. Worship is bringing God’s gifts. Worship is done with dance and joy at other times. Worship is done with shouts of joy. Worship is done with shouts of victory. Worship is done with elation. Worship is done with hands held high. Worship is done with instruments. Worship is done with thanksgiving. Worship is done in groups where we gather together. Worship is done individually. Worship is done in the car – at work – in the gym – at Starbucks – even on I-95. Worship is done with complete abandon and freedom. Worship is done on the floor. Worship is done at the altars. Worship is done on the seats. Worship is done in laughter. Worship is done in tears. Worship is done with clapping hands. Worship is done with stomping feet. Worship is done in the dark places. Worship is done in the light. But all worship and all praise is nothing more than you echoing forth the noise that is coming out of heaven. Your hands will raise to whatever you praise you’re on your feet for what makes your heart beat you will lift your voice for what makes you rejoice you will lose your cool and even dance like a fool for that one thing that makes your heart sing. Let’s see what GOD can do! Pastor Brian Harrell