by Mr. Titus Menezes
Praise: that is what happens in heaven and this is what we are called to do out here on earth. My focus this evening is on praise directed to God. This is the core: for once we are set on this path of praising God, we will appreciate men i.e. our loved ones, neighbours, the Church.
I am sure some may have said to themselves that I know a lot about praise, it’s a repetition, but its always good to revisit central themes. I had the privilege of leading the P&W during the thanksgiving Eucharist last month and there were four situations I asked you to thank & praise God for:
- in 2009 for what has happened and for what did not and
- for 2010 for what is going to happen and what will not
Yes easy to say when something good has happened but when it has not, we stiffen and we can hardly praise God. But this is what praise is all about: Praising God for every situation in our lives. As I prepared this talk, I was reminded of my other name ‘Jai.’ It was probably meant to be Jay but my baptismal certificate shows it as Jai which in Hindi means praise. Thank God for the priest who made the error. This is what I need to be in life: to praise. Let me begin by asking what do you understand by the word praise?
- to admire, elevate, magnify, exalt, commend, worship God
- declaring, proclaiming the character of God
But praise means much more.
- It is an expression of approval to God – an agreement of what He is doing or not doing in my life. I have no questions to ask you Lord. You know what is best for me.
- It is an expression of our faith – telling the Lord I believe in you, I trust in you. Lk 17:12-19 parable of 10 lepers; only 1 thanked and praised God
For some some, praise means ‘buttering’ God. I need something, so I will agree with you. When our focus is extensively on our requirement, we will find it difficult to praise God. Lets even look at the opposites of praising God: murmur, grumbling, questioning, complaining, silence. We will have enough reasons to justify our actions but this is where we are: spiritually ‘derailed’.
Even after I met the Lord, I found it very difficult and did just this: grumbling. It is only in recent years that I have begun to see the power of praise. Circumstances are not in my favour and I do not know what to do but as I begin to praise, I can see the Lord working through the situation for me. In the Hebrew language, there are seven words which are synonymous (identical) with the English word praise.
1. Towdah – sacrifice of praise and thanks. Even when situations are not in your favour, when you don’t feel like, when you feel like murmuring. This is your sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 - let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
2. Yadah – lifting or raising of hands to the Lord to worship: a demonstration of our love and submission to the Lord. Psalm 63:4: So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. Personally, I could not raise my hands to the Lord before I met Him. And even after I met Him when circumstances were not in my favour.
3. Barak – to bow in the presence of the Lord, to be overwhelmed by what is happening in my life. Psalm 95:6 - O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
4. Shabach – to shout out, lifting our voice in praise to the Lord for what He has done and what He is going to do. Isaiah 12:6 - Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel .
5. Zamar – playing any instrument that glorifies God. Psalm 150:1-5 - Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6. Halal – to shine, to rave and boast of the wonders of the Lord with excitement through dance. We also get the word ‘Hallelujah’. 2 Samuel 6:16 - As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
7. Tehillah – combination of singing, shouting, dancing, clapping and rejoicing before the Lord. Psalm 47:1 - Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
We adopt one or all or a combination of these when we P&W the Lord. Praise is our gift to God. As you would have noticed in these seven words these are all outward expresssions: by our bodily actions. We declare our praise to God in the midst of all those gathered around. We acknowledge His works in our life. We are singing, dancing, clapping, raising hands, bowing.
I share these words with you to let you know that this all part of us glorifying God. Often we hear people, I don’t like them clapping and dancing and raising hands. But this is all part of our scripture. Praise initiates you into worship. The more we praise God, the easier it is to worship. Worship is different in the sense that we are held in awe of God. There maybe minimal or no outward actions: silence, its personal/ private communication/ communion with God.
‘Thanks’ is for what God has done or not done but ‘praise’ is for who God is. Examples: I thank you Lord for saving me from that accident. Praise you Lord for being my protector. I thank you Lord for guiding me and providing me a solution. Lord you are my Guide, my Shepherd. You are the God of Wisdom and knowledge.
Thanks precedes praise. If we are not a thanking people, it is difficult to be a praising people. Psalm 100:4 - Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. You enter the courts through the gates.
I would now address the remainder of the topic with simple Q&As:
Whom is the praise to be directed to? I draw from the two statements that is part of our regular worship:
Gloria Patri (Minor Doxology) - Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
Eucharistic Doxology - Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours Almighty Father, forever and ever. Amen.
All praise and worship is directed to the triune God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is no fourth person. The Church document Lumen Gentium 66 is very clear wrt devotion to the Trinity, to our Lady and to the saints. Worship or adoration given to the Trinity is called latria (The highest kind of worship, or that paid to God alone), to saints called dulia (the honour paid to the saints) and to our Lady hyperdulia (veneration offered to the Blessed Virgin Mary). The church honors Mary but does not worship her. Jesus always prayed to the Father “Father I thank you…”. The Father is the source and the destination.
Who is to praise the Lord?
- Angels Ps 103:20
- The saints Ps 30:4
- The Nations Ps 117:1
- The Children Mt 21:16
- High and Low Ps 148:11 Kings of the earth, all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
- Young and Old Ps 148:12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children
- ALL CREATION Ps 150:6 Let every thing that has breath praise the LORD.
Psalms are a praise book. Psalms are a book for all times, including trying times/ situations.
Is there anyone here who does not breathe? Well then you have exemption from praising the Lord.
How are we to praise the Lord? We already covered that: through singing, dancing, shouting, clapping, lifting of hands. How can these outward actions be manifest if the internal is not right with God. Psalm 111:1 - Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Psalm 103:1 - Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
We have to praise God with our whole being: heart, soul and all that is within me. In our first experience with the Lord, He sets right the heart, so that good things overflow into our life. Luke 6:45 -The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. What the heart produces, the mouth speaks…Romans 14:11 - For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."
Why is it that we see people struggle to do the actions when invited to praise the Lord. I cannot imagine people sitting stiff when something exciting is happening in their lives. I see people jump and scream and shout when a match is going on in support of a team. Why? You pay to travel there, buy a ticket, you watch on TV and spend your time and pay the electricity bills. It is the players who have benefited financially, yet we are screaming. If we do all this for something non-beneficial and temporary, why can’t we do the same for a God who is so real to us!
Linda Schubert’s ‘miracle hour’ booklet has a long list of praises. These praises are not just for reading, it is for shouting praises to God. Our lips have to confess what we read. I spoke last year on Power of the Word of God: this power is in the speaking not merely reading.
When are we to praise the Lord?
Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Hebrews 13:15 - Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Scripture tells us praise has to be continuous. There is neither weekend nor holidays. Morning, noon , evening and night, stationary or travelling, praises have to be on our lips. This does not restrict us to time only, in any situation or circumstance we are to praise the Lord: good times or not so good times. We are called to praise the Lord. That I said you need to speak audibly and if we are to speak praises continually, can I do so in office in a meeting? We can speak without anyone hearing us.
I remember, many years ago on a company assignment, I visited a factory where our x-ray films were being cut. Because these are light sensitive, all rooms are pitch dark. People who are inside hold your hands and take you around. And there as I was standing, I sensed the Sprit tell me to pray. I began to pray in the Spirit. For those of us who have the ‘gift of speaking in tongues’ should make use of the gift. In the midst of chaos, confusion, work, travel, wherever we are, we can use this gift of praising God and praying in the Spirit. Over the last six months or so, the Spirit has been drawing me into a time of thanking the Lord especially when I am traveling.
We now move onto to the more important questions:
Why are we to praise the Lord?
There are over a 1000 reasons to praise but I will address only a few. We are to praise because of God’s:
- Majesty - Psalm 8:1 - O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic (omnipotent, mighty) is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.. The psalm goes on to say God is mighty over His enemies, over creation, over mankind
- Greatness - Psalm 96:4 - For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
- Excellency - Psalm 148:13 - Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
- Holiness - Exodus 15:11 - Who is like you, O Lord, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
- Wisdom - Daniel 2:20 - Daniel said: "Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his.”
- Wonderful acts - Psalm 150:2 - Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
- Salvation - Luke 1:68 - Blessed be the Lord God of Israel , for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
So many other areas – loving kindness, faithfulness, truth, mercy, power. The list is endless. Each one can prepare their own list.
What happens when we praise God?
Praise does not change God. God is unchangeable, He is constant. So when we praise God, it is we who change, our very outlook towards life changes. If you carefully noticed the list of words under ‘why we need to praise the Lord’, you will observe that only one person is the beneficiary: MAN . God wants to bless man.
God is mindful of mindless, rebellious, ungrateful man. God’s focus is man. Psalm 50:23 summarizes this beautifully “Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God." Those who thank & praise and walk in His paths, He will show salvation, deliverance, success and he will save. Some of the things that happen when we praise God:
¨ Praise emphasizes God - Psalm 18:3 - I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. My focus is the Lord, I am not seeking human intervention or any other god, my trust is in the Lord who is mighty to save. The more we praise, the more we shine and reflect being ‘children of light’
¨ God is made present in that place, situation - Psalm 22:3-4 - you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel . In you our ancestors trusted, and you delivered them. Praise is a pathway to God’s presence. God’s presence and power is manifest where His praises abound.
¨ Praise gives rise to victory - Judah was being attacked by the Ammonites and the Moabites. They sought God and the prophet gave counsel the battle is of the Lord. 2 Chr 20:19-22 - And the Levites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel , with a very loud voice. Jehoshaphat appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab , and Mount Seir , who had come against Judah , so that they were routed.
¨ Praise unifies us - Nothing unites God’s people as much as when we sing God’s praises together. It is like multiple strings brought together to form a rope. 2 Chr 5:13 - It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud.
¨ Praise consoles / comforts during difficult situations: Numbers 21:16-17 - "Gather the people together, and I will give them water." Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! Sing to it! There was a problem and God gave the instruction – gather the people together and then he gave a promise – I will give them water. The people responded by singing. Are you going through troubled times? Gather together with God’s praising people and praise God for the living waters to flow on.
¨ Praise halts the advance of the evil one - Ps 7:14-17: By praising God, not only are you making God present in that situation, the evil one is being driven off. Those negative thoughts that keep pricking us and clouding us will disappear. Praise and Satan cannot co-exist.
There are so many blessings and wonders and miracles that happen when we praise God, one of them being contenment. I would like to close with a scripture text that instructs us of what we are to do: Hebrews 13:15 - Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
We are called to sacrifice/ give up anything that interferes with our praising God. In other words our lips are to continually confess His name, thank His name, adore His name. Praise comes from a crucified life/ sacrificed life, we have to crucify/ sacrifice our desires and approve of God’s action in our lives. God you are right, You have wonderful plans for me, I am in agreement with you! This is true praise, genuine praise. This is our mission not only for this year but until our breath lasts. Amen.