PRAISE THE LORD

Psalms 146:1

 

THE ATTITUDE OF PRAISE

1. "Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul."

  A. Praise = haalluw= to make a show, to celebrate

      1. Lord = Yahh= the sacred name

      2. Lord (2nd)= Yehovah= self existence

      3. The Lord is sacred all by Himself.

      4. Soul=nephesh= a breathing creature

      5. He has no beginning and He has no ending.

         a. He is Alpha and Omega.

  B. When we praise the Lord, we ought to show out. It's a celebration.

      1. There is no harm having a party for the Lord.

      2. When something is good, you ought to celebrate.

  C. " Praise the LORD, O my soul".

      1. Praise the Lord with all my breath.

         a. The breath that I have, come from the Lord.

         b. It is His breath that I breath in. It is His breath that I Praise Him.

      2. Praise ought to begin on the inside.

         a. My outward praise ought to reflect what is happening on the inside.

         b. If there is no praise on the inside, there will be no praise on the outside.

      3. Praise must begin in the heart.

         a. If I clap my hands, the clapping ought to have begun in the heart.

         b. If I praise God with song, the singing ought to have begun in the heart.

         c. If there is no praise in the heart, then praise is phony.

         d. My outward praise ought to be a reflection of what is going in the heart.

DEVOTION TO PRAISE

V:2. "While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being."

 A. "While I live I praise the Lord."

     1. Proper praise requires personal dedication.

     2. We have to make up our minds that praising the Lord is our continuous business.

     3. We have to make up our minds that we owe praise to the Lord.

     4. We have to make up our minds that we are going to praise the Lord "no matter

          what".

         a. If the circumstance is good, we praise Him.

         b. If the circumstance is bad, we praise Him.

 B. "I will sing praises"= Azamaraah= striking with fingers, to touch parts of a musical

       instrument.

    1.  We must use all our talents in praising the Lord.

    2. God loves the music of praise along with the voices of praise.

C. Because the Lord continues to give us life, we have reason to continue to give

     Him praise.

    1. It is our duty to Praise the Lord.

    2. We ought to devote our time Praising The Lord.

    3. The Lord is worthy of our Praise.

TRUST IN PRAISE

V:3. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help."

 A. You can't trust the authorities (princes).

     1. They are not going to deal with you 24/7.

     2. They might not be available to you during  the day.

     3. The help of those in authority is limited to what they feel is advantageous to them.

     4. The princes are limited by the system to what they can do for you.

     5. They have limited resources.

 B. You can't put your trust in family, friends and neighbors.

    1. They can be with you today and against you tomorrow.

    2. They are limited by their history, personal experiences, personal desires and

        resources.

  C. Everything man has belongs to the Lord.

    1. Man can't help you with what he does not own.

    2. There is no real help in man.

        a. Man can't prepare a place for you in heaven; God can.

        b. Man can't get you to heaven; God can.

    3. All the help we need is the Lord.

    4. What man does for you is what God directs him to do.

 B. We have a choice.

    1. We can Praise God or we can praise man.

    2. God is good to us.

        a. Man cannot approach the goodness of the Lord. Matthew 19:17

        b. There is no true good in man. Isa 64:6

 

V:4. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts

  perish."

 A. Man has no control on how long he will live.  Ecc 9:12

     1. He can be here today and gone today.

     2. Whatever promises man makes to you may not be fulfilled when he dies.

     3. The help from man ceases when he dies.

 B. When man dies, his breath or spirit returns to the Lord.

     1. The body of man at his death returns to dust.  Ecc 12:7

     2. The life of man is temporary.

     3. God is eternal. He never ceases to exist.

     4. All that man does is under the control of the Lord.

 C. It is the Lord who controls life and death.

     1. We have a choice, we can Praise God or we can praise man.

V:5. "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God."

 A. When you trust in the Lord, the end will always be happy.

      1. Our hope in the Lord is sure.

      2. The God of Jacob is the God who promised his great grandfather, Abraham

          who had no sons that his seed would be more than the stars in the sky.

      3. The God of Jacob is the God who promised a land of milk and honey.

      4. God can be counted on to honor His Word.   

 B. When we trust in man, the outcome is not sure.

     1. The outcome may be disappointing.

     2. Man cannot be sure that he will be around to keep his word.

        a. Man will promise you one thing. If the situation is advantageous to him,

            he may not keep his word.

 C. We have a choice.

     1. We can Praise the Lord or we can praise man.

     2. We can Trust the Lord or we can trust man.

REASONS TO PRAISE GOD

V:6. "Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever."

 A. God is all powerful.

    1. He took that which was void and made the heavens, the earth and the seas.

    2. Man cannot measure the depth, the width or the length of God's creation.

    3. Man cannot calculate the power that it took to create God's universe.

    4. Man cannot calculate the power that it takes to maintain God's universe.

B. Man has limited power. God's power is unlimited.

   1. We have a choice; trust God or trust man.

C. God has all knowledge. He knows everything from  the beginning.

    1. No one can discover anything that God does not know.   Ecc 1:9

D. God is unchangeable. He is always the same.   Mal 3:6

    1. We have a choice, trust God or trust man.

    2. Truth is an attribute of God. He is the truth.

        a. There is no truth but God.

        b. The Word of God is the truth.

        c. We have a choice, Praise God or praise man.

V:7. "Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners."

 A. The Lord is the God of compassion.

     1. He is the judgment for the oppressed.

        a. He looks after those who have been misused and abused by others

 B. God takes care of those in need.

    1. He gives food to the poor.

 C.  God looks after those who are incarcerated.

    1. No matter what trouble we find ourselves in, God is there to provide justice.

 D. Before we met Christ we all were oppressed, hungry and prisoners.  Isa 61:1

    1. We were oppressed

        a. The world gives us no hope.

            i. Our hope is in the Lord

            ii. Our provisions, protection and future are in the hands of the Lord.

        b. We were denied the benefits and the blessings of the Lord.

        c. Our inheritance was hidden from us.

            i. We are the adopted sons and daughters of the Father.

    2. We were hungry.

       a. We were hungry for the truth.

       b. We were hungry for joy.

       c. We were hungry for peace.

       d. We were hungry for the righteousness of God.

       e. We were hungry for true love.

       f. We were hungry for justice.

  3. We were prisoners. 

     a. We were bound by our sins.

     b. We were held captive by Satan.

  4. God is our hope.

    a. God provides for us.

    b. God has set us free.

    c. God provides an eternal home for us.

 5. We have a choice.

     a. We can Praise God or we can praise man.

V:8. "The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous."

 A. Before we accepted Christ, we were spiritually blinded by the world.

    1. The Lord opened our eyes to Himself and His goodness.

    2. We were blinded to the righteousness of the Lord.

    3. We were blinded to the salvation of Jesus Christ.

    4. We were blinded to the consequences of sin.

    5. We were blinded to eternal life.

    6. We were blinded to the forgiveness of sin through Christ Jesus.

    7. We were blinded to the power of God.

    8.  Jesus gave us our spiritual sight.

 B. Before Christ, we were bowed down.

     1. We were weighted down by the burdens of life.

     2. We were weighted down by our own sins.

     3. We were weighted down by the hopelessness of this life.

     4. It was Jesus that lifted our burdens.

 C. The Lord looks after those who love Him and follow His commandments.

      1. The Lord loves those who walk in His ways.

  D. We have a choice.

       1. We can Praise God or we can praise man.

       2. We can give God honor and glory or we can credit man.

V:9. "The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down."

 A. The Lord looks after those who are disadvantaged.

      1. His love and compassion extends to all mankind, but He pays particular attention

          to the disadvantaged.

 B. We are all strangers in this earth.

     1. This is not our home, we are just passing through.

     2. The Lord protects and provides for us while we are here on earth.

 C. God looks after the fatherless and the widows.

     1. To the fatherless, God becomes their father.

         a. He is their protector and provider.

     2. God is the father of all believers.

     3. To the widow, God becomes their husband.

         a. Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is his bride.

  D. God controls the actions of the wicked.

       1. God allows the evilness of the wicked to benefit the righteous.

       2. The ways of the wicked will be their downfall.

  E. We have a choice.

      1. We can Praise God or we can praise man.

V:10. "The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD."

 A. Man will pass away, but the Lord is forever.

     1. The Lord is eternal.

      2. Everything has their beginning in the Lord.

 B. The Lord is on His throne and He will reign forever.

     1. You can always find the Lord'

         a. He is just a prayer away.

     2. The Lord never moves.

         a. If you can't find Him, you have moved.

  C. We have a choice.

       1. We can praise the one God who can do everything.

       2. We can praise man who is no help.

       3. PRAISE THE LORD.