“Practical Christianity: Praise”

Psalm 148:1-14

 

Picture the psalmist as a worship leader. As he leads all creation in praise, we should allow our souls to enter into the awe of hearing the grand choir of all creation singing the praise of the living God. Military guards will often provide a twenty-one gun salute to honor a person. This psalm is a salute of praise to the Lord. Over and over the call comes to us to praise the Lord. Let us join in with our whole hearts.

 

Exposition:

I.          The purpose of praise

            A.         It is the reason of our creation

                        1.         In this psalm we see a unified view of creation. All share a basic purpose, and it is traced back to the Creator’s purpose for all that he made. God knew the surpassing worth of what he is and he willed to share his worth with what he made. This makes known his honor and provides us with the highest good.

                        2.         The grand theme of the Bible is expressed in Rm 11:36.

            B.         It is the completion of our joy in the Lord.

                        1.         “What do we all do when we are given or shown something beautiful or excellent? We praise it! We praise little babies: ‘Oh, look at that nice round head! And all that hair! And her hands, aren’t they perfect!’ We praise a lover after a long absence: ‘Your eyes are like a cloudless sky! Your hair like the forest silk!’ We praise a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth when we are down by three. We praise the October trees along the banks of the St. Croix.” [Piper, Desiring God, p. 48]

                        2.         “I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?’ The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak about what they care about… I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” [Lewis, quoted by Piper, p. 49]

Point: God’s call to you to delight yourself in the Lord does not come to full expression until you declare his praise because you are motivated to rejoice in his goodness.

Example: “Fairest Lord Jesus! Ruler of all nature, O Thou of God and man the Son! Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!”

 

II.         All parts of creation summoned to praise the Lord

            A.         The heavenly dimension (148:1b) – from the heavens

Comment: “On the summit of creation the glory of the Lord is to be revealed, even as the tops of the highest Alps are tipped with the golden light of the same sun which glads the valleys.” [Spurgeon]

                        1.         Angels called to praise (148:2). Too many people are tempted to worship angels (cf. Col 2:18), but they are not to be worshiped, because they also are creatures and they, too, are called to praise the Lord. Indeed, this is their great delight (cf. Lk 2:13-14; cf. Ps 29:1; 89:5; 103:20-21). Here the “armies of heaven” are summoned to be heavenly praise teams. It is not that the psalmist thinks that they are reluctant to praise the Lord. Not at all! This merely expresses our common purpose.

Illustration: The Doxology

                        2.         Heavenly objects called to praise (148:3-4)

                                    a.         This is not some form of animism, as if they had life or soul.

                                    b.         Instead, it is a poetic call to creation to fulfill its purpose to glorify the Lord. Compare Ps 19:5-6. The sun and the moon that rule the day and the night by their light are paired in praise. But the uncounted myriads of the stars summoned to join in this grand praise song. “Light is song glittering before the eye instead of resounding in the ear.” [Spurgeon]

            B.         The earthly dimension (148:7a) – from the earth

Comment: The songs of praise coming down from heaven are to blend with songs coming up from the earth.

                        1.         Lower creatures, earthly objects and forces called to praise (148:7b-10)

Illustration: Lately we have experienced many “stormy winds that do his bidding”. How they showed a little of God’s power by the havoc they were able to wreak in our region! Yet each one was under God’s control. Have you acknowledged God’s power in the wind or the snow?

                                    a.         Observe the movement of the psalm (beautifully constructed!) from the depths to the heights of the earthly realm.

                                    b.         Restoration of God’s purpose for the earth against the corruption brought by human sin (cf. Rm 1:21-23).

Point: One of God’s serious charges against humanity is the lacking of praising his worth and giving thanks to him. This should stir all who know the Lord to seek God’s praise with all our hearts!

                        2.         People called to praise (148:11-12)

                                    a.         Leaders of humanity – If the mightiest among us ought to praise God, then all should join them in worship. If God has made you a leader, you ought to be leading others to worship God.

                                    b.         All peoples of humanity – God is the God of all. Ac 17:30

                                    c.         Both sexes – There is a growing hostility between the sexes as men and women suppress the knowledge of God. But in Christ there is a blessed unity. Gal 3:28

                                    d.         All age groups – The old should be encouraging the young to worship by their experience, and the young exciting the elderly to praise by their vigor and cheer.

Point: Focusing on God’s surpassing worth and declaring it provides unity among people. It is also an implicit call to all to repent and turn to God (cf. Rm 15:11; Ps 117:1).

 

III.        Reasons for praise

            A.         In the heavenly dimension (148:5-6)

                        1.         The reason of creation (148:5) – Our simple goal is to magnify God’s greatness of being able to create by his spoken word. “Let it be,” he said, and all things came into existence. What power is this? The theory of evolution may be atheistic, but the truth of creation logically demands worship (Rev 4:9-11).

                        2.         The reason of providence (148:6) – All things hold together by the Lord’s almighty power (Col 1:17), including the heavenly creatures that he has made. “They do not fail because the Lord does not fail them.” [Spurgeon] The Bible does not teach a mechanistic view of creation (like a clock would up by a clockmaker), but it teaches God’s constant activity in preserving all that he has made. He is always providing life to his creatures. We are totally dependent on God.

Point: That thought should either totally frighten you or cause you to give thanks to the Lord.

            B.         In the earthly dimension (148:13-14)

                        1.         The reason of the Lord’s supreme worth (148:13)

                        2.         The reason of redemptive provision (148:14). The horn is a symbol for a strong deliverer (cf. Lk 1:68-70). This is the Messiah, Jesus our Lord. It is in him that we are able to come close to the Father (Jn 14:6).

Apply: Perhaps you entered this place far from God in your heart. But there is a place for you near to the heart of God. If you will turn from your pursuit of sin and trust in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, you may have salvation through his shed blood. Then from your place near to God, you will be able to praise the Lord and experience God’s amazing joy and peace.