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Chapter 3: The Essential Role of Praise in Worship

“Praise now is one of the great duties of the redeemed. It will be their employment forever.” (Albert Barnes)

My wife and I have always been involved in small-group Bible studies. Most of the time I was the leader, but occasionally I was able to just be a participant. A church elder and his wife led one group that we really enjoyed. On one particular night, Brad began the lesson with a statement, “We live in a ‘whatever’ world. Whatever feels good, whatever gets you ahead of the other guy, whatever you want, go ahead and do it.” The group seemed to be tracking with Brad because they began to talk about things they could no longer participate in because of America’s declining moral code.

You could have heard a pin drop when I spoke up and said, “I agree with the ‘whatever’ mentality. In fact, I live by it.” You can be sure they challenged me to explain myself. After all, I was swimming upstream in rough waters. So I gave them my scriptural proof of living in a “whatever” world. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

As believers, our “whatever world” is different from that of those who do not know Christ. They focus on things that satisfy their earthly passions. We try to focus on healthy things that build peace in our lives. Our “whatevers” are things that bring glory to God. How does the Philippians text demonstrate this point? Well, let’s look at what we are called to focus on.

We are called to dwell on “whatever is true.” What is the ultimate truth in this world? It is the truth of God creating and working in this world. It is the truth of Jesus dying for our sins. It is the truth of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence helping us to live for our God.

What things do we consider to be “honorable,” or “right,” or “pure,” or “lovely,” or “of good repute,” or “excellent”? These words do not describe passions, which satisfy for the moment and then are gone. They don’t describe possessions or toys or promotions. All of these words center in the heart of Christ—his will, his teaching, and his truth.

Paul’s final ingredient in his “whatever” list was this: if anything is worthy of praise, then let your mind dwell on these things. Being worthy of praise is the capstone of all the other statements. When we live in God’s “whatever” world, we are living a life worthy of praise.

Hebrews 13:15–16 agrees with this assessment of a “whatever” world: “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (emphasis mine).

A lot of non-Christian people do good things. For example, some give away millions of dollars to philanthropic causes. On the other hand, many who call themselves Christians don’t even support their church, let alone do good for others and share what they have. So what’s the point? The point is that all fruitful giving and all doing of good must spring from a life of praise. So what is praise?

The phrase “Praise and Worship” was printed in our church bulletins for years. It was almost like the two words were synonyms, meaning essentially the same thing. While we may praise as we worship, and we may even worship as we praise, the two concepts are uniquely different.

We use a form of praise all of the time. We praise our children when they do something good. We praise their character, good grades on an assignment, or a game well played. We may praise our employees, or hope to receive praise from the boss. We even praise our animals when they perform a trick or do something that makes us happy. We use praise all the time.

We also desire to receive praise. We value praise. It affects our attitude, and work. Parents who withhold praise affect a child’s sense of self-worth clear into adulthood.

If praise is important in shaping who we are, then it is a fair assumption that praise is also important in shaping our spiritual lives. In fact, we are called to live a life of praise to our Lord.

But, what is praise? Perhaps a definition from the dictionary will help us understand praise.

Praise:

the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation.

the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship: a hymn of praise to God.

the state of being approved or admired. 10

We praise in two basic ways: directly and indirectly. When we express admiration to God and extol his qualities, we are praising him directly. If we tell others about God and magnify his name in our conversation, we are praising God indirectly. What is important in praise is that the two must agree. If I praise my wife directly, and complain about her indirectly to others, then my praise has no value. If I say nice things to my boss, but undermine him to others, my praise is worthless. In the book of Galatians, Paul confronted Cephas (Peter) for living among the Gentiles and agreeing with them, but then turning his back on them when the Jewish Christians came around. He was praising the Gentile believers directly, but rejecting them indirectly. Paul was not willing to let that go unnoticed.

How many times do our actions look like those of Peter? We say nice things to friends and then criticize them when their backs are turned. We praise our families and then act as if they are a burden to us. We worship and praise God, but in public we make no mention of God until we are angry (and what we say then is anything but praise). Do our lives cancel out what we do in church?

Notice that praise is by nature external. It is expressed through celebration and exhilaration. When we are praising something we sing, shout, talk about the object of our praise, share it with others, clap, and dance. It is an external response to an internal feeling or change. Praise, like faith, requires action.

Praise must be heard aloud. Psalm 66:8 confirms this: “Bless our God, O peoples, and sound His praise abroad.” We find another good example of this in Isaiah 40:9: “Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news. Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news. Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, Here is your God!”

Praise is not based on our feelings, but on the greatness of God, which never changes. We may feel terrible today, but God is still God. Therefore, we will praise him. To that extent, praise is a test of the will. Is our praise based solely on how we feel or what he has done for us lately? Is our praise based on being swept away by the enthusiasm of others? Psalm 42:5–6 seems to be a call to praise when we feel bad. “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him.” Notice that the author is saying that by expressing his hope aloud he shall restore praise. In the next verse, he speaks the words of his praise: “O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember Thee from the land of the Jordan, and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.” His praise was honest; he wasn’t feeling very good about things. So rather than focusing on the present, he would remember the past. Since God does not change, he can focus on the past and know that what God has done before he will certainly do again. That knowledge alone marks the return of praise.

Praise should be expressed in a corporate setting. The final song in the book of Psalms says,

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 tambourine 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! (Psalm 150)

Praise is important because God is enthroned in our praise. Psalm 22 is another of those psalms where the writer is not feeling like he should be offering praise. In fact, he begins with, “Why have you forgotten me?” This is pretty deep, and it expresses the way that we might feel during certain circumstances of life. But the psalmist knew that God was God whether he felt like it or not, so in verse 3 he says, “Yet, Thou art Holy, O thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” When we struggle and are down we are tempted to turn away from God, but deliberate praise on our part keeps God on the throne of our lives.

Praise is important because it has positive benefits. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High: to declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness at night” (Psalm 92:1–2). “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely” (Psalm 135:3). Science is recognizing the connection between being positive and physical recovery. Laugh therapy is being prescribed for chronic pain. Praise puts us in the frame of mind to receive God’s blessing.

Praise is important because it reminds us of the statement, “It is not about me.” “We can’t really praise God without being thankful for the thing we are praising him for. And we cannot really be thankful unless we believe that an omnipotent, loving Father is working for our good. Otherwise, we sound like the words from the classic movie Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street, where Natalie Wood’s character, Susan, states, “I believe . . . I believe . . . It’s silly, but I believe.” Merely going through the motions does not make our words praise. Praise must be accompanied by conviction. Praising him, then, involves gratitude and joy that God is keeping his word to work good through everything if we love him.”11 Our praise is not based on where we are now, but on where God is taking us on the other side of the present situation.

Finally, praise is important because we were created for the very purpose of praising God. “The people whom I formed for Myself, will declare My praise” (Isaiah 43:21). Peter tells us that as chosen people, God’s possession, we are called to declare his praise into the darkness (1 Peter 2:9). This is important because God has declared that he will win the world through us. If we fail to do that which we were created to do, then we are not doing our part in God’s appointed plan.

So what does praise look like? No prescribed formula makes up praise. Lifting our hands is spoken of often through the Psalms. 1 Timothy 2:8 gives us a New Testament indication that praise includes lifted hands. “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or dissension.” Clapping in worship was mentioned in Psalm 47.

Praise was demonstrated most often in the standing position, but it was also done while kneeling and while prostrate, or lying flat on one’s face. Most corporate praise today is done in the standing position, perhaps because it is difficult to provide room for everyone to lie on their faces in church! Kneeling and lying prostrate are important positions often incorporated into smaller or personal worship settings.

Let us end this section on praise with Hebrews 13:15–16, which says, “Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And to not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Praise, do good, and share. What an interesting formula for happiness.

Praise shapes our faith, determines our happiness, encourages others, declares our faith, and changes the world. We cannot merely praise and leave out doing good and sharing. Praise is the expression of our faith; doing good and sharing is the result of our faith. They go hand in hand. “For the gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5a).

Try These Activities

• Make a list of the attributes of God and pray through them aloud.

• Tell someone who does not know Christ about your relationship with Jesus.

• Make a determined effort to change something you are doing in worship. Break a habit and try something different that has been discussed in this chapter.