True Praise – Lessons Learned

Hello, Friends. Today’s exhortation is based on a serious error throughout many centuries in the church world with regard to true praise unto the Lord. I used to wonder why so many people sang praises to God, ignorantly. Well, the main reason was because the leadership either did not know (or they refused to submit to) what God’s word declares about true praise, that is, what God’s word declares about singing with uprightness of heart, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to meet His approval.

For the record, the word praise is used at least 248 times throughout both Testaments. Today, we will look into several passages in the Book of Psalms for our edification.

Let’s begin….

Consider the following True Praise reports:

(Psalm 35:28) And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.
(Psalm 50:23) Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
(Psalm 106:12) Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
(Psalm 111:1) Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
(Psalm 111:10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
(Psalm 112:1) Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
(Psalm 119:7) I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
(Psalm 119:164) Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
(Psalm 119:171) My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
(Psalm 119:175) Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.
(Psalm 139:14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
(Psalm 150:2) Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

In the aforementioned scriptures, the word “praise” according to Ancient Hebrew, refers to two basic key words “shine” or “confess.” We have learned to be pure in heart so that we can rightly confess (or fully agree) that the word of God we hear, receive, keep, and obey to be what is prescribed for us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) …and… we have learned that our lives must “so shine” before men so that they may see our good works and glorify Him (Matthew 5:16). You see, praise to God effects both those who know Him as well as those who don’t; praise can/will edify or present a stumbling block to the singer(s) and to the hearer(s). Many of us do not realize this truth. Selah.

Special Note: the Lord never intended, nor commanded, nor sanctioned His people to sing praises in a worldly spectacle. Our praises to Him are NOT for entertainments, nor contests. We do not praise the Lord with our skills and gifts only, but more so by virtue of pure and upright hearts through the knowledge of His word, so that we can worship Him with true praise.

We cannot honor God with performances at entertainment venues—they make people feel good, but God is not glorified. The devil’s children along with foolish and unlearned church folk are well known for offering worldly-driven types of praise, but God is not glorified. Truth be told, it is a conformed to this world type of praise, but God is not glorified. We are exhorted and commanded to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, which means, those so-called praises in such venues are but noises in God’s ears and not acceptable in His sight — He is not glorified!

I am reminded of what God said in Amos 5:23-24, “Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

Unfortunately, many in the Church world do not know that this is what God said about unacceptable praise; either they have not read, or have not been taught, the scriptures concerning true praise unto the Lord, though they sing with unbridled cheerfulness. Sad.

I remember what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:1, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”

In this verse, the word “charity” stands forth because without it we cannot have nor keep God’s word …and… the absence of charity has a strong effect against true praise. We must learn God’s righteous judgments in order to develop the proper affection (charity) toward Him so that we can praise Him, acceptably.

The devil’s children sing unacceptable praise at worldly establishments and carnal-minded church assemblies. But, the righteous praise the Lord each day—not as public spectacles, and not to be seen of men. We praise God with our whole hearts. We strive to know and keep His word … and we continue to learn and aim to praise Him, righteously.

Consider the following truths:

We praise God as we speak of His righteousness … we know His word.
We praise God as we bear and bring forth much good fruit to glorify Him … we are His disciples.
We praise God because we believe His word to be truth in the inward parts (i.e., in our innermost thoughts).
We praise God in the assembly of the upright also known as the congregation of the righteous.
We praise God because we fear Him and strive to have a good understanding of His commandments.
We praise God because we desire to learn His righteous judgments so that we can be upright in heart.
We praise God with our lips … He has taught us His statutes.
We praise God because His judgments helps us in times of need.
We praise God because we are fearfully and wonderfully made — by Him!
We praise God for His marvelous works so that we may know right well.
We praise God for His mighty acts according to His excellent greatness!

Do you truly know who God is? He is The Almighty God and our Savior; The Ancient of days; The Eternal Self Existent One; The Creator of the heavens and the earth; The Alpha and Omega; The Beginning and the End; The First and the Last; The King of kings and Lord of lords….

He is not our earthly father;
He is not our earthly mother;
He is not uncle Charlie;
He is not aunt Mae;
He is not the sugar daddy;
He is not Santa Claus;
He is not any other person, thing, or creature.

He is the very breath of our lives (Genesis 2:7) …but… without Him we have no life. As He breathed into the nostrils of Adam and he became a living soul, God also breathed into the nostrils of every other human being, since. That’s right! It wasn’t the doctor who smacked the backside of the newly born … it was the Lord — He breathed the breath of life; and we all became living souls.

Consider these “breath of life” references:

(Job 33:4) The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
(Psalm 33:6) By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
(Romans 8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
(1 Corinthians 15:45) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Let us appreciate God for who He is and for what He has done for all of us. O, bless Him … bless His Holy and Righteous Name! Selah.

We strive to meet all the required conditions listed in this exhortation (and more which are not included), so that we can be upright in heart with the understanding of how to praise the Lord according to His will.

The traditions of men are not acceptable praise.
The doctrines of men are not acceptable praise.
The commandments of men are not acceptable praise.

Wise up folks! If you want God to receive your praise, know Him and His word of a truth; submit to His perspective of true praise; keep both as the apple of your eye. Only through obedience will we learn, know, and understand how to present true praise to Him. Amen?!

In Christ We Do Remain
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