Praising God – Psalm 134
Praising God – Psalm 134
by Pastor Lee Hemen
August 19, 2007
There are little things in life that often surprise us and then delight us in ways we do not expect. It can be a smile from the lips of a child, laughter heard on an summer’s eve, or a soft breeze coming through the house that cools you after a hard day’s labor. Each in of itself is a small thing, yet a delightful thing. Something that God sends our way to bring joy into our life.
This Psalm, which is often overlooked because of its length, is like a cool breeze, a smile from a child, or laughter heard on a summer’s eve. It is spiritual refreshment for the weary soul and I believe David wrote it that way deliberately. He realized that as he praised God, spiritual refreshment would come. The pilgrim who had spent so much time worshipping in the temple, going and participating in the festivals of the Lord, were now returning home. Tired from all of their duties, but still feeling the afterglow of their devotion to God in His temple, they were encouraged to sing praises one last time as they journeyed home. In this little Psalm we discover a big truth in praising God.
READ: Psalm 134
In this day and age when so much of praise is focused on “me,” we need to remind ourselves of what praise truly is to be. Worship is not to be built around the worshipper but rather what honors the Lord. True worship is completely focused on God and not ourselves. David calls those who have been worshipping God to one last time of focus on Him rather than themselves. It is…
I. A call to praise (vv. 1-2)!
1. Our praise of God comes whether we serve in the light of day or in the darkest moments of life!
1) We learn that “The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD…. They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening.” (1 Chronicles 23:28, 30) So great was the need of people to help in the sacrifices that David lowered the age of men who could serve from 30 years old to 20 years old and he allowed fathers to serve with their sons. Not only does it display for us a tremendous devotion to God, but how God’s leaders can ask for help and receive it! Often leadership within God’s congregation need help, but few step forward. It is a wonderful thing to serve the Lord in His church. It is an act of praise! Our praise of God comes whether we serve in the light of day or in the darkest moments of life!
2) David instructs them: “Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD!” All of God’s servants were to praise Him, especially those “who minister by night in the house of the LORD.” Often we wait to serve God when we “feel” like it, but God calls all of His people to service! Why then do we hesitate? We find that much of our praise of God depends upon our own emotions, rather than what we know to be true – our faith. Yet, we find David telling his people to “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD!” It was NOT dependent upon how they felt, it centered on who God was and is! God is worthy of our praise no matter how we feel or what our circumstances in life! Our praise of God comes whether we serve in the light of day or in the darkest moments of life! It is a call to praise!
EXAMPLE: C. H. Spurgeon, a famous 19th century Baptist preacher, related about this Psalm that it pictured “The Pilgrims… going home, and… singing the last song in their Psalter. They leave early in the morning, before the day has fully commenced, for the journey is long for many of them. While yet the night lingers they are on the move. As soon as they are outside the gates they see the guards upon the temple wall, and the lamps shining from the windows of the chambers which surround the sanctuary; therefore, moved by the sight, they chant a farewell to the perpetual attendants upon the holy shrine.” What a beautiful picture. It shows us just how important worship is supposed to be for God’s people. It is to so important that you actually can't stand to leave! You look back, seeing the house of God, and long to return again. When our worship is focused on God, that is what occurs. If it focused on what we can got out of it for the moment, then we will only long for the feeling of worship and not the fellowship of being with God, in His presence with His people. It is a call to praise.
The Bible makes it clear that we “reap what we sow.” We may not understand this completely living in a day and age where we do not go out and plant, water, and then harvest a crop. Paul, in Galatians, applies it to our spiritual lives when we writes, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8) This applies as well to our praise of God. We reap what we have sown. If we are praising God for the right reasons, we reap the benefits of that praise. If not, it is just so much hot air and hand waving. This is why David follows up his call to praise God with…
II. A prayer of blessing (v. 3)!
1. The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
1) God’s people are encouraged to trust the living God because He will bless them all from the priests to the people – the pastors to the congregation! This is an important truth we find throughout Scripture. God does not care about your position in life. Whether you are rich or poor, high born or low. God told Samuel, who picked David to be King of Israel, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Paul would state that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) While there can be distinctions in spiritual service, there is none in spiritual relationship. All believers became one with each other, human distinctions lose their significance. None is spiritually superior over another. This is why Paul would tell Timothy, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) The grandest form of praise is to give God your life! God blesses those who praise Him – from the least to the greatest! The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
2) You need to know God in order to praise Him and experience His blessings! Paul would remind us there is no difference in God’s eyes as far as people are concerned. In fact, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame…. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:11, 13) This is why Paul asks the question, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?” (v. 14) An unsaved person cannot call on God whom they have not believed in, nor can they rightly praise God whom they do not believe in! Jesus would quote the prophet Isaiah by teaching us that “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Matthew 15:8-9; Isaiah 29:13) It is only by knowing God and trusting Him with your life that you can truly praise Him. Because then you know by faith “the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” and He will “bless you from Zion!” It is a prayer of blessing. Blessing comes when our lives are given over to Jesus Christ. The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
EXAMPLE: Praise comes from a Latin word meaning “value” or “price.” Thus, to give praise to God is to proclaim His merit or worth. Many terms are used to express this in the Bible, including “glory,” “blessing,” “thanksgiving,” and “hallelujah,” the last named being a transliteration of the Hebrew for “Praise the Lord.” The Hebrew title of the book of Psalms (“Praises”) comes from the same root as “hallelujah” and Psalms 113-118 have been specially designated the “Hallel” (“praise”) psalms. We are “blessed” made happy in our relationship with Jesus when we praise Him. When we give to Him the honor that is truly due His name. Have you praised God lately for who He is? Perhaps this is why your relationship feels insecure because you depend on your emotions instead of your faith? Perhaps your faith is misplaced because you do not know Jesus? The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
Conclusion:
1) A call to praise and 2) A prayer of blessing.
by Pastor Lee Hemen
August 19, 2007
There are little things in life that often surprise us and then delight us in ways we do not expect. It can be a smile from the lips of a child, laughter heard on an summer’s eve, or a soft breeze coming through the house that cools you after a hard day’s labor. Each in of itself is a small thing, yet a delightful thing. Something that God sends our way to bring joy into our life.
This Psalm, which is often overlooked because of its length, is like a cool breeze, a smile from a child, or laughter heard on a summer’s eve. It is spiritual refreshment for the weary soul and I believe David wrote it that way deliberately. He realized that as he praised God, spiritual refreshment would come. The pilgrim who had spent so much time worshipping in the temple, going and participating in the festivals of the Lord, were now returning home. Tired from all of their duties, but still feeling the afterglow of their devotion to God in His temple, they were encouraged to sing praises one last time as they journeyed home. In this little Psalm we discover a big truth in praising God.
READ: Psalm 134
In this day and age when so much of praise is focused on “me,” we need to remind ourselves of what praise truly is to be. Worship is not to be built around the worshipper but rather what honors the Lord. True worship is completely focused on God and not ourselves. David calls those who have been worshipping God to one last time of focus on Him rather than themselves. It is…
I. A call to praise (vv. 1-2)!
1. Our praise of God comes whether we serve in the light of day or in the darkest moments of life!
1) We learn that “The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD…. They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening.” (1 Chronicles 23:28, 30) So great was the need of people to help in the sacrifices that David lowered the age of men who could serve from 30 years old to 20 years old and he allowed fathers to serve with their sons. Not only does it display for us a tremendous devotion to God, but how God’s leaders can ask for help and receive it! Often leadership within God’s congregation need help, but few step forward. It is a wonderful thing to serve the Lord in His church. It is an act of praise! Our praise of God comes whether we serve in the light of day or in the darkest moments of life!
2) David instructs them: “Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD!” All of God’s servants were to praise Him, especially those “who minister by night in the house of the LORD.” Often we wait to serve God when we “feel” like it, but God calls all of His people to service! Why then do we hesitate? We find that much of our praise of God depends upon our own emotions, rather than what we know to be true – our faith. Yet, we find David telling his people to “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD!” It was NOT dependent upon how they felt, it centered on who God was and is! God is worthy of our praise no matter how we feel or what our circumstances in life! Our praise of God comes whether we serve in the light of day or in the darkest moments of life! It is a call to praise!
EXAMPLE: C. H. Spurgeon, a famous 19th century Baptist preacher, related about this Psalm that it pictured “The Pilgrims… going home, and… singing the last song in their Psalter. They leave early in the morning, before the day has fully commenced, for the journey is long for many of them. While yet the night lingers they are on the move. As soon as they are outside the gates they see the guards upon the temple wall, and the lamps shining from the windows of the chambers which surround the sanctuary; therefore, moved by the sight, they chant a farewell to the perpetual attendants upon the holy shrine.” What a beautiful picture. It shows us just how important worship is supposed to be for God’s people. It is to so important that you actually can't stand to leave! You look back, seeing the house of God, and long to return again. When our worship is focused on God, that is what occurs. If it focused on what we can got out of it for the moment, then we will only long for the feeling of worship and not the fellowship of being with God, in His presence with His people. It is a call to praise.
The Bible makes it clear that we “reap what we sow.” We may not understand this completely living in a day and age where we do not go out and plant, water, and then harvest a crop. Paul, in Galatians, applies it to our spiritual lives when we writes, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8) This applies as well to our praise of God. We reap what we have sown. If we are praising God for the right reasons, we reap the benefits of that praise. If not, it is just so much hot air and hand waving. This is why David follows up his call to praise God with…
II. A prayer of blessing (v. 3)!
1. The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
1) God’s people are encouraged to trust the living God because He will bless them all from the priests to the people – the pastors to the congregation! This is an important truth we find throughout Scripture. God does not care about your position in life. Whether you are rich or poor, high born or low. God told Samuel, who picked David to be King of Israel, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Paul would state that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) While there can be distinctions in spiritual service, there is none in spiritual relationship. All believers became one with each other, human distinctions lose their significance. None is spiritually superior over another. This is why Paul would tell Timothy, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) The grandest form of praise is to give God your life! God blesses those who praise Him – from the least to the greatest! The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
2) You need to know God in order to praise Him and experience His blessings! Paul would remind us there is no difference in God’s eyes as far as people are concerned. In fact, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame…. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:11, 13) This is why Paul asks the question, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?” (v. 14) An unsaved person cannot call on God whom they have not believed in, nor can they rightly praise God whom they do not believe in! Jesus would quote the prophet Isaiah by teaching us that “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Matthew 15:8-9; Isaiah 29:13) It is only by knowing God and trusting Him with your life that you can truly praise Him. Because then you know by faith “the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” and He will “bless you from Zion!” It is a prayer of blessing. Blessing comes when our lives are given over to Jesus Christ. The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
EXAMPLE: Praise comes from a Latin word meaning “value” or “price.” Thus, to give praise to God is to proclaim His merit or worth. Many terms are used to express this in the Bible, including “glory,” “blessing,” “thanksgiving,” and “hallelujah,” the last named being a transliteration of the Hebrew for “Praise the Lord.” The Hebrew title of the book of Psalms (“Praises”) comes from the same root as “hallelujah” and Psalms 113-118 have been specially designated the “Hallel” (“praise”) psalms. We are “blessed” made happy in our relationship with Jesus when we praise Him. When we give to Him the honor that is truly due His name. Have you praised God lately for who He is? Perhaps this is why your relationship feels insecure because you depend on your emotions instead of your faith? Perhaps your faith is misplaced because you do not know Jesus? The blessings of God flow from the throne of God as we praise Him!
Conclusion:
1) A call to praise and 2) A prayer of blessing.
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