Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150)
Steven Cole asks an excellent question, “I wonder how many of us could honestly say, ‘Praising God characterizes my life’?”
Personally, there’s something special about being around people who love to praise the Lord!
Such was the case Tuesday night as a group of us attended the Bristol Revival in Bristol, VA. This is the first week for these meetings under the gospel tent. With around 2,500 or more in attendance, the praise did flow!
What a blessed time it was to gather outside the tent with around 200 men to pray before the service. With men crying out to the Lord, hands raised in supplication (1 Timothy 2:8), it was a blessed time in the presence of God asking for the power of God to change hearts and lives through the preaching of God’s Word
The praise and worship continued as the service began with joyful, full-hearted singing. Once again, there was shouting, rejoicing, and brighten countenances all around. These folks were praising God for Who He is and for what He had done!
What stood out to me were the young folks seated around me. Next to me was a nine-year-old boy in our group who at one point nudged me on the leg and pointed to my hands. They weren’t clapping with the music, and he did not want me to miss out on the blessing of praise!
In front of me were two young folk, ages 12-15, who seated next to their father, were more than engaged in rejoicing and making connections throughout the whole service. It was a delight to see them so engaged.
The preaching of Evangelist CT Townsend was powerful and penetrating. Oh the praise and joy that rolled as we were challenged to consider the blood that has redeemed us, reconciled us back to God, purchased our pardon, and set us free from our bondage to sin (Exodus 12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:14-22; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
The praise continued as lost souls walked forward at the invitation to receive Christ as their personal Savior! As their names and ages were called out, the believers rejoiced with those in Glory (Luke 15).
“Psalm 150 gives us the where, why, how, and who of praise. Praise can be expressed through singing and music (including clapping, dancing, lifting our hands, kneeling, lying prostrate, etc.), through testimony and thanksgiving, prayer, sacrificial service, and giving.” (Cole)
Is your life characterized by praise? Are you obedient to Psalm 150:6?
God is eternally worthy of all our praise!
A dear friend of mine in ministry is often heard to say, “Just give Him praise!”
