The Priority of Praise
The Book of Psalms
(And Other Scriptures)
“O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
Psalm 107:31
"For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods."
Psalm 96:4
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Psalm 145:3
"You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being."
Revelation 4:11
“Be exalted in your strength, LORD; we will sing and praise Your might.”
Psalm 21:13
Principles of Praise . . .
1. Praise is to be public.
Praise is . . .
the visible and verbal expression of how you feel about God.
an expression of adoration of who God is and what He has done or what we are trusting Him to do.
understanding and then saying that no one is worthy of more recognition, more acknowledgment, more gratitude, more respect, more appreciation than God.
always tied to the character of God.
an act of our will that flows out of an awe and reverence for our Creator.
“His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:1
"I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.”
Psalm 34:1
"Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands."
Psalm 63:3-4
Worship can be silent – but praise is always audible.
2. Praise is a powerful means of evangelism.
“But youarea chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9
3. Praise is to be offered in particularly tough times.
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name."
Hebrews 13:15
“TheLordisgood, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.”
Nahum 1:7
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Job 13:15
“ButHeknows the way that I take;whenHehas testedme, I shall come forth as gold.”
Job 23:10
Our praise of God is not to be based on
our opinion of His job performance.
Our praise of God is to be based on His faithfulness
regardless of what we see or feel.
Praise cannot be treated as a "reward" we give God
for His obvious blessings.
Real praise continues regardless of circumstances.
The Lord hears your heart and rewards the authenticity of your praise
with a greater awareness of His presence.
To magnify something you don’t make the object itself bigger – rather you make it look bigger to you.
God is already as big as He will ever be but far too often we minimize Him instead of magnify Him.
“The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:21
4. Praise produces victory and deliverance.
"I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies."
2 Samuel 22:4
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God while the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, big enough to shake the foundations of the prison. Immediately all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains were unfastened.”
Acts 16:25-26
He came to live, live a perfect life
He came to be the loving word our light
He came to die so we’d be reconciled
He came to rise to show His pow’r and might
And that’s why we praise Him,
That’s why we sing
That’s why we offer Him our everything
That’s why we bow down and worship this King
Cause He gave His everything
Cause He gave His everything
He came to live, live again in us
He came to be our conquering King and friend
He came to heal and show the lost ones His love
He came to go prepare a place for us
And that’s why we praise Him,
That’s why we sing
That’s why we offer Him our everything
That’s why we bow down and worship this King
Cause He gave His everything
Cause He gave His everything