Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 100, NKJV
Praise is such an important part of our relationship, and our relating to God. He is great, and greatly to be praised. He inhabits the praise of His people. He is worthy of all our praise. In fact, the Jews believe that this is the purpose for which Adam was created--to praise the Lord.
In ages past, long before the world existed as we know it, there was a beautiful cherub in heaven, an archangel high and exalted whose assignment it was to fly around the head of God and sing to His glory. He was adorned with jewels and equipped with amazing instrumentation to assist him in his magnification of God. Some say he even had charge over a third of the heavenly hosts, a division of worshipers. And his name was Lucifer, the light-bearer.
The Bible does not tell us what processes took place in the inner recesses of Lucifer's existence, except to say that pride crept in and turned his heart away from his responsibilities. He didn't want to fly around the head of God and sing God's praises forever and ever. He wanted a better job. He wanted a higher position. He didn't want to be God; he wanted to be over God. He wanted to be master of all he surveyed, lord of the universe, the overlord of the Lord of lords. And in desiring to climb higher, he fell. And when he fell, he took a third of the heavenly host with him, apparently that third whose job it was to accompany him in the high praise of God.
And after that, God made the world that we know. He knelt on the banks of the river he had just carved into the earth, scooped up a handful of ruddy mud and fashioned after his own likeness the image of a man. And then he breathed into that earthen vessel new life, and gave man a living spirit, and according to the Jewish traditions, the man sat up and said, "The Lord is King forever and ever." To which God responded, "Now the whole world will know that I am king."
We were made to praise the Lord, to tell of his greatness and his glory throughout all the ages, world without end. We were made to worship him. Is it any wonder then that the devil, that fallen Lucifer, has been working so hard for the last six millennia to destroy the handiwork of God that reflects the Sovereign's own image and likeness? Is it any wonder that he does all he can to prevent our praise? He tempts, he tries, he tests, he attacks, he deceives, he distracts, he destroys. He does what he can to keep us from praising God, because he knows there is power in praise. He knows there is deliverance for us in praise. He knows there is victory over him in our praise. He knows that God listens, when God's people praise him. So he has ever reason for keeping us quiet.
Of course, that right there should be reason enough to keep us praising. It ticks the devil off! So go ahead. Give God a shout out right now. Let the glory-hallelujahs roll off those lips! It may start in a heady place, perhaps as an intellectual exercise, a simple vocalization. But keep praising God. Throw in a praise the Lord or two. Proclaim worthy is the Lamb of God. Give God some thanks and praise with your voice. Clap your hands. Stomp your feet. Jump and shout, dance about. Put your whole body into it. Throw both hands in the air and give God a double high-five while you tell him DUDE, YOU'RE AWESOME!
And if you think I'm getting carried away over here...don't knock it 'til you've tried it. You start praising God and see how long it takes for something to start stirring deep within you, something that won't settle down, something that is fighting to get out. It's like a wellspring of living water that will gush from your innermost being. It's like a might wind, blowing upon your soul. It will turn your world around!
So let's just praise the Lord!
Thank you God, that I can praise you. I mean, that I am able to praise you. Thank you for breath. Thank you for my voice. Thank you for hands and feet that work. Thank you for a body that is healthy and whole. But God, even if I didn't have those things. Even if I was bed-ridden and unable to move, or mute and unable to talk, I'd like to think that I would praise you still. Because nothing can stop my heart from praising you!
Thank you God, that I have reason enough to praise you. You've done so much for me that I cannot tell it all, and I will never forget what you've done for me! You've given and given and given again. You are gracious and merciful and compassionate and bountiful. You supply all my needs, you look after me, you listen patiently to my requests, and sometimes you even give them to me. But even if you never did another thing for me, I could go on praising you just because of who you are, and because you are worthy without having done anything!
Thank you God, that you respond to me when I praise you. When I begin to praise you, I can feel your Spirit rising up within me, and moving all around me. When I begin to lift your name on high, I can feel your presence in my life. It's not that you're not always there; I know that you are. But I love that sweet wonderful sensation of knowing that you are here right now!
God, I give you all my praise!
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