Introduction:
We’re going to begin tonight with a little group participation.
What does it mean to praise God? Let’s come up with a working definition...
Praise means “to commend, to applaud or magnify.”
For the Christian, praising God is an act of humbling ourselves and centering our attention on the Lord with heart-felt expressions of love, adoration and thanksgiving.
Ok... how do you praise God?
There are many actions involved with praise to God — verbal expressions of adoration and thanksgiving, singing, playing instruments, shouting, and then comes the two areas the Bible addresses on praise that make good fundamental Baptists like us wiggle uncomfortably in our pews . . . dancing, lifting or clapping our hands.
However, true praise is not “merely” going through these motions.
In fact, Jesus spoke about the hypocrisy of the pharisees, whose worship was only an outward show and not from the heart. (Matthew 15:8)
Unpretentious praise and worship pleases the Lord . . . He delights in the love and devotion of His children.
According to the scriptures, the various expressions of praise bring blessing to the Lord.
He’s said to be eagerly awaiting the fragrance of our affections, all the while desiring to manifest His awesome presence and power in our midst. (John 4:23)
Ok . . . one more question with group participation and I’ll leave you alone. How do you define the Psalms . . . what are the Psalms?
Part of the answer is that they are prayers. Part of it is that they’re poems . . . but the primary purpose and definition of the Psalms is that they are hymns through which David or one of the other authors praise God.
The Psalms are hymns of praise.
Transition:
Now we begin this way tonight because up to this point in our reading of the Psalms there have been no chapters that are purely all about praise.
When we get closer to the end of the Psalms the majority of them are purely praise Psalms . . . but here at the beginning of it has been very different.
As commentator James Montgomery Boice points out, “The first two psalms are introductory. The next psalms ask for help or deliverance or justice, all in varying ways. The psalm closest to being a praise psalm thus far is Psalm 8, which begins and ends, ‘O YHWH, our Adonihu, how majestic is you name in all the earth!’ But even that psalm was chiefly a celebration of man’s place in the created universe . . . Psalm 9 is the first psalm that is chiefly a song of pure praise.”
Life Patterns of Praise:
What I’d like to do tonight is discuss a life pattern of daily praise that I believe to be a necessity for a believer in their pursuit of a healthy and growing relationship with God.
We find this pattern here in Psalm 9 and it’s this: Each and every prayer of petition, request for help, or cry of anguish can and should follow a similarly themed prayer of praise.
And here’s what I mean by this in the way of an example: “Lord, thank you for the breath that you give to me each new day, I ask that with each new breath you would give me purpose and direction with my words and actions so that I might speak words of substance and truth and act in a way that brings glory and honor to you.”
Now that’s a generic, simple one.
But what if we applied this principle to all of our prayers? Would it change what we prayed for? Could it change our outlook on God’s goodness and on His activity in our lives?
Friends, I believe that if we were to acknowledge the goodness and provision of God more frequently in our lives we will see and understand His goodness more often.
I believe that we will, in fact, develop a more positive and spiritual heart and mindset.
Quick Exposition:
Let’s quickly look at how David does this here in Psalm 9
vs.1-2 set the tone for the rest of the Psalm introducing David’s resolve to worship God. vs.1-2.
The rest of the Psalm can be broken down into two parts... part 1 contains praise for David and Israel’s past deliverance... the 2nd part, which grows out of it, is petition for further deliverance.
What I’d like to do is read you the whole Psalm breaking down into categories of praise and petition and then well talk a little application.
Beginning in vs.3, vs.3-6 - David’s praise for past victory over the nation of Israel’s enemies.
vs.7-8 - David praises God for being a just Judge and for setting up His system of Justice in Israel.
This would have been especially significant to David as he was responsible for seeing that justice was done in civil matters.
vs.9-10 - David praises God for the refuge that He had given, in times past, from the wicked.
In vs.11-12 David draws the readers attention back to the necessity of praising God. vs.11-12
Only now, after having thoroughly and appropriately praised God for His goodness in dealing with enemies, doling out justice, and providing refuge from the wicked, does David begin to petition God for future deliverance.
vs.13-20
I think it’s important to notice the beginning of David’s petition here, vs.13.
Despite David’s intimate knowledge of and relationship with the Lord David never approaches God with any claims or ideas about his own worth or goodness.
David always approaches God as a sinner seeking mercy.
And why does David seek this mercy? vs.14
The idea is best summed up by the puritans in the Westminster Catechism question 1 answer 1, namely “What is the chief and highest end of man? --- Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”
Application:
Ok, application time. What do your prayers sound like? When was the last time praise was a priority for you?
Think about it honestly for a moment . . . what do you have to praise God for that might touch on the needs, the requests, that you have today?
And listen . . . this will take work. When you’re sick you don’t spend your time thinking about the days that you were well. When one part of your body aches your mind doesn’t immediately think of all the other parts that are functioning properly and without pain.
Friends . . . you have to train yourself to praise God.
Next week we’re going to come back to Psalm 9 and look at the instruction, the 4 phase plan that David has for training yourself to have a consistent response of praise in every situation.
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