Praise Continually

 

I need to preface this post by admitting that not only 12 hours after beginning to write this, I failed in the very thing I was trying to encourage others to do. I found myself with my bottom lip dropping, frustrated, stressed, a misery to be around and certainly NOT filling my mind with thoughts of praise and worship, speaking or singing my praise to the one who gives me the very breath I breathe.

 Yes. I failed. Again. And as I sat there, going through the endless mounds of tedious paperwork, God spoke to my heart and reminded me of what I was in the process of writing. He convicted me of how hypocritical I was being, preaching without practicing. I bowed my head in shame and asked God to forgive me and my miserable attitude and I began to praise. I began to thank him for every little thing. I realised how very blessed I was and how much he has given me. Over and above what this wretched sinner deserves. And you know what? The misery left. The cloud lifted. The burden rolled off my shoulders.

Oh, what a blessing it is to lay it all at the foot of the cross. To cast our burdens on him. To open our lips and praise the Almighty God and Saviour!

 And so, as you read on, please know that I am far from perfect and although I try to write words of encouragement and share verses that I pray will be a help to others, I stand in need of reminding too and I am preaching to myself.

 I pray that God will speak to your heart, and you will be encouraged to praise him and that he will heal your broken heart, lift your weary head, set your feet upon a rock and give you wings to soar above the clouds!

This morning, I read a short devotional by Charles Spurgeon that was too good to keep to myself. It deals with the subject of praise.

I’m finding as the days go by and the world descends into chaos, it seems that Christians have lost some of their joy. It’s hard to keep up with the smiles and joyful spirit when everything around us is falling apart. But God commands our praise. There are so many verses in the Bible on praise. In fact, the word praise is used 248 times in the Bible. (If you are interested in more on this subject, I wrote 5 blog posts a couple of years ago entitled Praise in Song - http://holmestead7.blogspot.com/  , beginning in February 2018)

We are to praise God continually, having a heart like the Psalmist.

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

When we praise the Lord, we are bringing glory to his name.

Psalm 50:23a Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:

Bringing glory to his name is to be our ultimate goal as a Christian.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

This is how Spurgeon puts it:

” It is not left to our own option—whether we shall praise God or not. Praise is God’s most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of His grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. We have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving, but the law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the tables of stone or handed to us from the top of thundering Sinai.

Yes, it is the Christian’s duty to praise God. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of his life. Do not think you who are always mourning, that you are guiltless in this respect, or imagine that you can discharge your duty to your God without songs of praise. You are bound by the bonds of His love to bless His name so long as you live, and His praise should continually be in your mouth, for you are blessed, in order that you may bless Him.”

Isaiah 43:21 KJV - This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

“If you do not praise God, you are not bringing forth the fruit which He, as the Divine Gardener, has a right to expect at your hands.”

It’s so important to praise God. And whether we do it in song, or on our knees in prayer, or in public testimony, it needs to be done.

Don’t let this world’s tumultuous times discourage you from praising God. Start today. Start right now. Begin speaking words of praise and thankfulness to the Lord for all he’s done for you. Don’t let your focus be continually drawn away from heavenly things. Don’t let the world dictate to you what you should think on and talk about. Fill your heart with praise to the Lord and let him lift your spirits. Don’t live under your circumstances. Rise above them and soar like an eagle, letting God’s love and mercy carry you far above the dark clouds. Begin to praise him for every little thing you can think of and watch your joy meter rise.

When we sing our praise to God, it is an expression of worship. Worship is more than just a song. Our praise in song to him is an expression of our worship. When we sing, wholeheartedly and sincerely to the Lord and for his glory, with a worshipful heart, it is beautiful to him.  For me, singing praise to God is a very important part of my worship. But it is not the only way to worship. I love this simple definition of worship I heard today.

“Worship is our love expressed to God as a response to his grace toward us”

We respond to God’s love with worship and praise of him, whether in song or in prayer or a different way altogether, how you choose to worship is between you and the Lord. Personally, I love the examples in scripture of God’s people singing praise to God and worshipping him with their voices and musical instruments. They were such times of joy.

Let’s not walk around with our heads hanging down. Let’s not sing in our church services like we have nothing to be thankful for. Let’s turn conversations around that dwell on the negative circumstances and the woeful situations we find ourselves in. Let’s turn them on their heads and praise God instead.

 Lift up your heads. Raise your eyes. God is still on the throne. He is still in control. He is still our help. Our refuge. Our shield. Our rock.

Psalm 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

Don’t be afraid to praise God when others around you are not. Let’s spread praise! Let’s make it contagious! If we start to praise instead of grumble, if we let our voices sing God’s praises, if we share God’s goodness with those we meet, we could just spread it!

In our churches, we could be joy spreaders. Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching? It’s easy to catch the complaining spirit and spread it around, and so it is with joy. It’s hard to be around a joyful, praise-filled Christian, without some of it rubbing off on you! Pretty soon you find yourself singing a little louder, smiling a little broader, sharing a bit more boldly. Joy is contagious! Praise is infectious. Let’s start a thankfulness pandemic!

I’ll leave you with this beautiful and direct, instruction from Spurgeon.

“Let not your harp then hang upon the willows but take it down, and strive, with a grateful heart, to bring forth its loudest music. Arise and chant His praise. With every morning’s dawn, lift up your notes of thanksgiving, and let every setting sun be followed with your song. Belt the earth with your praises; surround it with an atmosphere of melody, and God Himself will hearken from heaven and accept your music.”    C. Spurgeon