Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. David ends the book of
Psalms with the highest of notes of adoration as he sings, let
everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Notice that he speaks
to those who have breath, meaning those who are alive. He said
in Psalms 115, 17, the dead praise not the Lord, neither any that
go down in silence. Genesis 2, 7 says, and the Lord
God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
So while God made the stones, the plants, and the animals that
roam the face of the earth, and while it is true that they shall
bring glory to his name, it is to humankind who was made in
his image that this decree is made. Who should praise the Lord? Everybody who is alive should
praise him. It is an incumbent duty of every
man, woman, boy, or girl who is alive on planet earth to praise
him. No one is excused. While it is
the duty of everyone to praise the Lord, it is the great privilege
of the redeemed to do so. It is their delight, for praise
is comely or beautiful for the upright. Why should we praise
the Lord? Because He is worthy to be praised.
The very fact that He is the Creator gives Him the right to
be exalted by His creation. The redeemed are even more indebted
to praise Him because of the great mercies which He has extended
to them. Because Thy lovingkindness is
better than life, my lips shall praise Thee. I will praise Thee,
O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Thy name forevermore. When should we praise the Lord?
Whenever the opportunity presents itself. David said, I will bless
the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. The redeemed should live with
a constant attitude of praise. Complaining and whining will
always be eliminated when we begin to praise the Lord. Unthankfulness
will flee away when our heart is set to praise the name of
the living God. When should we praise Him? When
our soul is bowed down with sadness and there is none to comfort
us. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted
within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise Him. When we remember His goodness,
O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness. When we study
and hear His word, my lips shall utter praise when thou hast taught
me thy statutes. While we ought to praise Him
continually night and day as we go about our varied activities,
there are times that we should set aside to give ourselves totally
to the activity of praise. We ought to praise the Lord while
carrying out our business, yet we must set aside a time to devote
ourselves to the business of praise. I will praise the Lord
with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
Praise in private is a good thing, but it cannot replace the necessity
of praising God in the midst of the Lord's people. I will
greatly praise the Lord with my mouth, yea, I will praise
him among the multitude. The Lord manifests himself when
his people praise his name together. But thou art holy, O thou that
inhabit the praises of Israel. When should we praise Him? Forever. He is feeding us to spend eternity
in His presence. So we, thy people, and the sheep
of thy pasture, should give thee thanks forever. We will show
forth thy praise to all generations. How should we praise the Lord?
With our whole heart. The Lord is not impressed with
man's ability, nor with his supposed righteousness. Yet He commands
men to worship Him. Worship and praise are closely
related, yet they are not synonymous. While worship is primarily the
cessation of all activity in reverence and obeisance, that
is, falling down prostrate at his feet, praise is primarily
an activity wherein man gives himself to the Lord. The scripture
tells us to bring the sacrifice of praise. A sacrifice by its
very definition involves the paying of a price. That which
costs us nothing cannot be a sacrifice. So praise requires us to be more
than a spectator. It requires more than a pious
demeanor. It is a hands-on activity. How
shall we praise the Lord? By singing aloud with our mouth,
by giving thanks and testimony, by giving of such things as He
has given us. The whole concept of praise is
that in the midst of our poverty, weakness, sinfulness, and inability,
God has allowed and enabled us to bring something of value to
lay before Him. Will you keep back part of the
price? Is it not your own to do with as seemeth good in your
sight? Let us give him the sacrifice of praise and say with David
of old, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into
the house of the Lord. Do you praise God with your whole
heart? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.