Praise the LORD!
WEEK 11
SINGING PRAISE TO GOD OUTWARDLY AND INWARDLY
PSALM 148–150
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.
Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged fowl; Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven. And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples, To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron, To execute on them the judgment written; This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
O LORD, in focusing our prayers heavenward
and considering the majestic theme of worship, we naturally turn to the book of Psalms. The final five psalms in our psalter all begin,
"Praise the LORD!" Indeed, Lord, You are worthy of this great crescendo, this ringing, jubilant call to praise
that echoes throughout the ages.
We add our voices to the eternal choir in praise of Your holy name,
for You alone are exalted forever. Your glory is above earth and heaven,
far above everything You have made. We Your people therefore join together in prayer
and sing to You "a new song," which is the song of redemption.1
Father, these psalms enjoin lively praise,
employing all that we are and have— along with stringed, wind, and percussion instruments; in the dance; and with every ounce of our breath. In fact, the concluding verse of the final psalm is,
"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!"2
We realize that when these psalms were first penned and sung,
the redemption they celebrate was understood only through Your promise. It was explained through types and shadows—
with so much of what was to come
still veiled in darkness.
But now Christ has brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.3
Now through the atoning work of Christ,
we understand the mystery of salvation—
that on the cross, He rendered a blood sacrifice, to be received by faith—
not earned with any merit of our own.4
For we have no merit. We are fallen, sinful, needy, helpless sinners—
with no ability to free ourselves from the bondage of our sin and therefore incapable of earning Your favor
through any works of our own. But Christ has supplied the righteousness we need,
and Your Word promises
that all who call on His name will be saved.5
We claim that promise by faith,
filled with profound gratefulness
that all Your promises in Christ are yea and amen.6
On this side of the cross, therefore, our praise
is enriched, enhanced, and enlarged, since it encompasses the great glory
of the incarnate Son of God
in His mighty work at Calvary. We are greatly blessed to have this full picture,
and offer You our praise with profound yet humble gratitude.
May a song ring from our hearts at all times
because of the greatness of the salvation
You have given to us in Your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.
1. Revelation 5:9-14 2. Psalm 150:6 3. 2 Timothy 1:10 4. Romans 3:25 5. Romans 10:13 6. 2 Corinthians 1:20
PRAYERS ON JOY AND LONGING