The People of Praise

A number of weeks ago, 3 or 4 weeks ago, I, I told you that as

a church, our, our passion is to pursue the Christ and that is to

be done in a way that, that honors the Lord.

And so that that pursuit is to be done aggressively, not

passively. And because our, our passion is

to pursue him, our, our priority is to portray him.

And that portrayal is to be done authentically, not

hypocritically. And then we, we told you that

our, our purpose is to proclaim the Christ and that is to be

done authoritatively. But our practice is to praise

the Christ, and that is to be done automatically.

In other words, the Lord said Isaiah 23 or Isaiah 41 verse #23

the people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my

praise. In other words, praise is that

which is automatically done by those whom Christ has formed for

Himself. It's not something that you have

to necessarily muster up. It's part of our spiritual DNA.

And so we give praise and honor to God.

And you always have to wonder what, what is our praise life

like? This morning I want to talk to

you about the people of praise. We're on this pathway.

It's called the pathway of praise.

We began with the privilege of praise, then we move to the

prophet of praise. And today I want to talk to you

about the people of praise. What are they like?

What do they praise the Lord for?

The expectation is in Hebrews 13 verse #15 which says through

Him. Then let us continually OfferUp

a sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of lips that

give thanks to His name. Through Him Christ is in us and

we are in Christ. And yet through him, like we are

to rejoice in the Lord, we are to give thanks through him by

offering up a sacrifice of of praise, the fruit of our lips,

which is giving thanks to God. And this is to be done

continually. The psalmist said it this way in

in Psalm Psalm 34. We said these words.

Psalm 34, verse #1 I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth continually.

Psalm 71, verse #6 He says by you I have been sustained from

my birth. You are He who took me from my

mother's womb. My praise is continually of You.

I have become a marvel to many, for You are my strong refuge.

My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your glory all

day long. In other words, because He

continually praises the Lord, because his mouth is filled with

the glory of the Lord all day long, He has become a marvel to

all those who are around him. Because you see, for the most

part, people just don't do that. But the psalmist did.

He understood it. That's who we are.

Listen to the words of Charles Spurgeon.

He says these words. We are to offer the sacrifice of

praise to God continually, because in so doing you will

answer the end of your being. Every creature is happiest when

it is doing what it is made for. A bird that is made to fly

abroad Pines in a cage, an eagle would die in the water, even as

a fish that is made to swim perishes on the river's bank.

Christians are made to glorify God, and we are never in our

element till we are praising him.

The happiest moments you have ever spent were those in which

you lost sight of everything inferior and bowed before

Jehovah's throne of light with reverent joy and blissful

praise. When your whole soul is full of

praise, you have at last reached the goal that your heart is

aiming at. Your ship is now in full sail,

your car is on the tram lines. Your life moves smoothly and

safely on. This is the groove along which

it was made to slide. Before you were trying to do

what you were not made to do, but now you are at home for the

praise of God. Your new nature has fashioned

and it finds its rest there in Keep to this work and do not

degrade yourself by doing something less.

So true. Why would we degrade ourselves

by doing something less than praising God?

Because that's what the people whom God has formed for himself

have been created to do. And so we offer up continually

praise to God. These Hebrew people in the book

of Hebrews would be wondering if you want me to embrace the new

covenant and forgo the old covenant.

And then under the old covenant we are offering sacrifices day

and night always to God. What kind of sacrifices will we

offer under the new covenant? And so the writer of Hebrews

answers that question by saying you will offer a sacrifice of

praise to God. And it would be a great

sacrifice for them because they were Hebrew people.

And in so doing, they would be ousted from their homes, they

would be ousted from the synagogue, they would be ousted

from their friends. They'd be all alone.

And when you give praise to God and give thanks to him for what

he has done, because the shadow now is gone, because it's filled

with the substance, all the ceremonies that you've engaged

in have all been fulfilled by the one who came, the Messiah,

Christ, and now you're praising him.

It will be a great sacrifice for you to do that because your

friends won't, your family won't, but you do.

And that's a sacrifice you offer.

You would go to the temple and you will offer sacrifices in the

morning. You would go to the temple, You

would offer sacrifices at night. But guess what?

Your body now is the temple of the Holy Ghost of the Holy

Spirit. And now you are the sanctuary,

You are the holy place. And in that holy place you

OfferUp a sacrifice of praise to God.

And you do it continually because you are now priests in

His Kingdom. You're priests in that temple,

which is your body where you OfferUp sacrifices of praise and

giving thanks to your God, and Satan doesn't want you to do

that. The enemy will fight against

your your praise. He he wants you to complain.

He wants you to grumble. He wants you angry and bitter.

He wants you to have an unforgiving spirit.

He wants you just to never lift a voice of praise and

Thanksgiving to God doesn't want you doing that.

Isn't it interesting that in the Old Testament that the the the

psalmist was always raising his hands in praise?

The psalmist that this way in, in Psalm 63 verse #4 so I will

bless you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in your

name. I will lift up my hands in your

name. That is according to your

person, You're the Messiah, you're the king.

I will lift up my hands. And then the psalmist says these

words in Psalm 119. He says, I shall lift up my

hands to your commandments. So not only does a psalmist lift

up his hands to the person of God, he lifts up his hands to

the precepts of God. And then over in in Psalm 134,

he says, behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord who

serve him by night in the House of the Lord, lift up your hands

to the sanctuary and bless the Lord.

So he lifts up his hands to the person of God.

He lifts up his hands to the place of God, and he lifts up

his hands to the precepts of God, but he can't lift up dirty

hands. They have to be clean hands.

The psalmist says in Psalm 24, verse #3 Who may ascend into the

hill of the Lord, or who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted

up his soul to falsehood and is not sworn deceitfully.

In the Old Testament, the the the Hebrew people would lift

their hands and praise to God, but they would only lift clean

hands because clean hands represented a pure heart.

And they would they would lift empty hands, not hands filled

with something else. Why?

Because their hands would be consecrated to God.

Not just clean hands, but consecrated hands.

Why? Because they're they're employed

to be used in the service of God.

And if my hands are holding something else, then my

employment in the service of God will be hindered.

So the hands are, are open, they're clean, and they're

consecrated to God to be used by him in any way possible.

And that's why they would, they would praise the place of God,

they would praise the person of God, they would praise the

precepts of God. Why?

Because I'm here to be used by you, O Lord.

So the writer of Hebrews comes along and says through him,

through the Messiah, through the one who has fulfilled all the

the shadows that were portrayed in the Old Testament, the

substance has arrived. Let us OfferUp a a sacrifice of

of praise to him. Let us offer thanks, the fruit

of our lips, giving thanks to God for all that he has done,

praising his glorious name. That's the people of praise.

In fact, it's illustrated in in the book of Acts and you could

read all throughout the book of Acts.

But if you just go to Acts chapter chapter 2, it says these

words verse 46 day by day continue one mind in the temple

and breaking bread from house to house.

They were taking their meals together with gladness and

sincerity of heart, praising God, having favor with all the

people, and the Lord was adding to their number day by day,

those who are being saved, that that's just a great testimony.

God was adding to their number because they were appraising

people. God was adding to their number

because they were doing what they were created to do that

they were filled with praise in spite of the fact that this

Jewish community in Jerusalem would be ousted because of the

sacrifice of praise. But they didn't care.

That was irrelevant to them. They had recognized all that God

had done and they wanted to praise his glorious name.

And God says, I'm going to add to your number daily because of

your praise to me. Could it be that that we we

hinder our family coming to Christ because we're not

praising God as we should continually?

They see in us a a downcast spirit.

They see in us a bitter spirit. They see in us an angry spirit.

They see in us a complaining, grumbling, mumbling spirit.

And they're like, wow, that's just that.

That's me. I do that.

And yet they say they they, they worship the King.

They say they're Christians, they say they love the Lord, but

they don't live like they love the Lord.

Because if you really love him, you'll praise him and honor him

and glorify his blessed name. His praise will be continually

on your lips all the day long, which would cause your family

then to marvel as they did the Psalmist.

Does your unsafe family marvel at the fact that you continually

OfferUp a praise to God no matter what the situation, no

matter what the circumstance, because you want to give thanks

to his glorious name? Early church, they were a people

of praise. You go to Acts chapter 3 and

Acts 3 · chapter mention

you've got the physically disabled man.

He was disabled from birth from his mother's womb.

And when Peter healed him, verse 8, with a leap, he stood upright

and began to walk. And he entered the temple with

them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and

they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at

the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had

happened to him. Of course he would praise the

Lord. He'd been lame from birth.

And Peter healed him and everything changed his life.

They began to leap and to praise and honor his God.

And people wondered were filled with awe because of what God had

done. But in Acts chapter 5 it says

Acts 5 · chapter mention

these words in verse 40. They took his advice, and after

calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them

not to speak in the name of Jesus and then release them.

So they went on their way from the presence of the council,

rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer

shame for His name again. They, they would continually

OfferUp a sacrifice of praise. They were told you can't speak

in the name of Jesus anymore. But they, they kept doing that.

So they flogged them. They flogged them.

That that's, that's 29 lashes on the back and 10 on the front.

They, they were cut to the quick and they were bleeding, but yet

they rejoiced. Why?

Because their praise was a sacrifice and they as priests in

the the Kingdom of God, wanted to OfferUp their continual

praise to God no matter what, because they had suffered for

his namesake. And then over in Acts chapter

Acts 16 · chapter mention

16, you have Paul and Silas. They're in prison.

It says in verse 22 these words. The crowd rose up together

against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off

of them, and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into

the prison, commanding the jailer to to guard them

securely, and he, having received such a command, threw

them into the inner prison and fasten their feet and stalks.

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing

hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to

them, and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the

foundation of the prison house were shaking, and immediately

all the doors were open and everyone's chains were

unfastened. Instead of cursing God like

everybody else in prison did, because they were in chains and

were beaten with rods, instead of blaspheming the name of God

and instead of complaining that that they were in prison, they

began to pray and then sing praises to God, giving thanks to

God, and everything changed from that standpoint.

Now you see that the point is this, that so many times we are

in the the chains of bitterness and the chains of stubbornness

and the chains of selfishness and the chains of unforgiveness.

Why? Because we refuse to give praise

to God and we kept keep ourselves bound by those chains

because we're unwilling to praise God for what he has done

and what he's going to do. They had no idea that their

chains would fall off. They had no idea they'd be

released from prison. They had no idea that the jailer

would be saved. They had no idea.

They just knew that they had to offer continually a sacrifice of

praise to their God. That's the people of praise.

Those are those on the on the pathway to praise who recognize

the fact that this is my sacrifice that I give to God

continually, day after day, no matter the hardship, no matter

the pain, no matter the difficulty, no matter the

negative circumstances, I'm going to offer praise to God.

So what do you say? What do you do?

Let me give you 6 principles that will help you understand

what you want to say when you give praise to God.

Here's the first one. You need to always recite His

wonderful works. You begin to praise him by

reciting His wonderful works. Listen to Psalm 145.

Let the let the Word of God speak for what it is.

I would extol you, Oh my God, O King, I will bless your name

forever and ever. Every day I will bless you.

I will praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.

His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise your

works to another and shall declare your mighty acts.

He's going to recite the the wonderful works of God.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, on on your wonderful

works, I will meditate. Men shall speak of the power of

Your awesome acts, and I will tell if Your greatness.

They will eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant

goodness, and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and

great in loving kindness. The Lord is good to all, and His

mercies are over all His works. All your work shall give thanks

to you, O Lord, and your godly ones will bless you.

They shall speak of the glory of Your Kingdom and talk of your

power to be known to the sons of men, Your mighty acts, and the

glory of the majesty of Your Kingdom.

Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and your dominion

endures throughout all generations.

He recites the wonderful works of God, He recites his

greatness, He recites his glory, he recites his goodness, he

recites his grace, he recites his government, and then he

recites his generosity. He says this.

The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed

down. The eyes of all look to you, and

you give them their food. In due time you open your hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all his deeds.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon

Him in truth, He will fulfill the desire of those who fear

Him. He will also hear their cry and

will save them. The Lord keeps all who love him,

but all the wicked. He will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will

bless His holy name forever and ever.

What a great Psalm, He says. Let me recite the works of God.

Let me recite not just His goodness and His greatness, not

just His government and His grace, but let me recite to you

His generosity. Because this is the God who

sustains the lowly. Here's, this is the God who

satisfies their longings. This is the God who who saves

the lost. This is the God who secures his

loved ones. You.

You praise him by reciting his wonderful works.

That's why Psalm one O 6 is such as a sad a sad Psalm because in

Psalm one O 6, they are continually forgetting all that

God had said and all that God had done.

It says in in Psalm one O 6 these words, they did not

remember your abundant kindness. Verse 13, they quickly forgot

your works. They did not wait for your

counsel. Verse 21, they forgot God their

Savior, who had done great things in Egypt so easily.

We forget all the great things that God has done that that's

why you spend time reading the Psalms, recognizing that the

Psalms or the psalmist would recite the wonderful works of

God. And that's where our praise

begins. And once you recite the

wonderful works of God, then you respond with thankful hearts.

You respond with thankful hearts.

He was 1315. You give thanks to his name.

It says over in, in Psalm 63, Psalm 63, these beautiful words

with a psalmist said these words.

Psalm 63 verse #4 in fact, I'll begin with verse #3 because of

your loving kindness is better than life.

My lips will praise you so I will bless you as long as I

live. I will lift up my hands in your

name. My soul is satisfied as with

Morrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night

watches for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your

wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you.

Your right hand upholds me Over in Psalm 100, the psalmist said

these words in verse #1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the

earth. Serve the Lord with gladness.

Come before him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God.

It is He who has made us and not we ourselves.

We are His people in the sheep of His pasture.

Enter his gates with Thanksgiving, and his courts

with praise. Give thanks to Him.

Bless his name, for the Lord is good.

His loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness

to all generations. When you begin to recite the

wonderful works of God, there's one response, and that's to

respond with thankful hearts, Thanking and praising God for

all that He's done #3 recognize His powerful hand.

Recognize His powerful hand. Remember back in First Samuel

1 Samuel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 where Hannah would give praise to God because the

Lord had answered her prayer. The Lord had remembered her and

opened her womb and gave her a son.

Son's name would would be used by God in a mighty way, young

Samuel. But she says in verse #1 She

prayed and said, My heart exalts in the Lord.

My horn or my strength is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in

your salvation. She said there is no one holy

like the Lord. Indeed there is no one beside

you, nor is there any rock like our God.

Then she says these words in verse 6.

The Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and

raises up. The Lord makes poor and rich.

He brings low. He also exalts.

He raises the poor from the dust.

He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with

nobles and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lords, and He set the world

on them. He keeps the feet of his godly

ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness, for not by

might shall a man prevail. Those who are contented with, or

those who contend with the Lord will be shattered against them.

He will Thunder in the heavens, and the Lord would judge the

ends of the earth, and He will give strength to his king, and

would exalt the strength of his anointed.

Hannah recognized that God's hand was over everything, that

God. God kills and God saves.

God raises up and God puts down. God makes a man rich, God makes

a man poor. She recognized the mighty hand

of God over everything. And so when you're praising God,

you're recognizing his powerful hand.

David did the exact same thing over in Second Samuel chapter 12

2 Samuel 12 · chapter mention

after the sin with Bathsheba and the baby was born and, and, and

the baby was going to die. God told him the baby was going

to die. And David began to pray and and

to fast. And it says in verse 18 it

happened on the 7th day that the child died.

Verse 19. But when David saw that his

servants were whispering together, David perceived that

the child was dead. So as David said to his

servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and

changed his clothes. And he came into the House of

the Lord, and he worshipped, he offered a sacrifice of praise to

his God. Then he came to his own house,

and when he requested they set food before him and he ate.

The servant said to him, What is this thing that you have done

while the child was alive? You, you fasted and wept.

But when the child died, you arose and ate food.

And he said, while the child was still alive, I, I fasted and

wept. For I said, Who knows, the Lord

may be gracious to me that the child may live, but now that he

has died, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?

I will go to him, but he will not return to me.

Here is David recognizing the mighty hand of God, the powerful

hand of God, and submitting to that that that strength of his

hand, knowing that God was in control of the life of his Son.

And when the Son died, he arose, He changed his clothes, and he

worshipped You. Give praise to his God.

Why? Because he recognized the

powerful hand of God. And that's what the people of

praise do. They recite his wonderful works,

they respond with thankful hearts, and they recognize his

powerful hand #4 here's a good one.

They radiate with cheerful giving.

They radiate with cheerful giving back.

In First Chronicles, First Chronicles chapter 29, David had

1 Chronicles 29 · chapter mention

collected from the people of God and offering that would be used

in the building materials for the temple.

It says in verse #9 and First Chronicles 29 Then the people

rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they

made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart.

And King David also rejoiced greatly.

So David, bless the Lord in the sight of all the assembly.

And David said, Blessed are you, O Lord God of Israel, our Father

forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness

and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty,

indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth.

Yours is a dominion, O Lord, and you exalt yourself as head over

all. Both riches and honor come from

you, and you rule over all. And in your hand is power and

might, and it lies in your hand to make great and to strengthen

everyone. Now, therefore, our God, we

thank you and praise your glorious name.

David knew that the people of Israel would give willfully.

They would give liberally to the work of the Lord, and that would

bring glory and honor to God. David, recite riches and honor

come from you. We have what we have because of

you, and therefore we give back to you that which you've already

given to us. And they they would radiate with

cheerful giving that that's what people of praise do, that

there's this certain cheerfulness about giving.

That's why in Second Corinthians Chapter 9, it says that the Lord

2 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

loves a a cheerful giver. Why?

Because the Lord wants you to give willingly and freely to

him, not grudgingly, not bitterly, but because you

recognize that he is the giver of all things.

Listen, those who recognize that what they have is from the Lord

are the ones who give the most back to the Lord.

Those who do not recognize that what they have is from the Lord.

They want to keep holding on to what they have as if they earned

it, as if they were the ones who obtained it, as if they were the

ones who worked hard for it. But it's God who makes 1 rich.

It's God who makes 1 poor. It's God who gives to man, and

therefore the people of God. They recognize that, and they

radiate with cheerful giving because they recognize His

powerful hand, and they respond with thankful hearts because

they recite His wonderful works. Next, the people of praise

remember his purposeful sacrifice.

They remember His purposeful sacrifice.

This morning we're going to partake of the Lord's table, and

the Lord said, do this in remembrance of me and the people

of praise. They remember the purpose behind

this sacrifice, that it was for their welfare, their welfare,

their well-being, their salvation, and so they remember

Jesus Christ. 2nd 28 The Senate of David risen from the dead,

which is my gospel. Paul said they give thanks into

God for his indescribable gift. 2nd Corinthians 9 verse #15 They

understand, as First Corinthians 1557 says, thanks be to God who

gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

They remember His purposeful sacrifice, and #6 They rejoice

in Worshipful Psalm. The people of praise rejoice in

Worshipful song. Psalm 69 verse #30 I will praise

the name of the Lord with Psalm. The Bible says in Psalm one O 4

verse number 33, I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Let my meditation be pleasing to him.

As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord on the eve of the

crucifixion, after they had celebrated the last Passover

with the first Communion table, after our Lord had prayed His

High priestly prayer. The Bible says in Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26 verse #30 after singing a hymn they went out to

the mount of all of us. So they would gather together

that one. Last night Christ would wash the

disciples feet. He would give them instruction

as to what was going to happen. He would pray with them for them

and before they left the upper room they would sing a hymn.

The question is which hymn did they sing?

Well, the answer to that is that because it was Passover, they

would sing the the six songs of the Hallel, which means to

praise, and more than likely they would sing the last of the

Psalms of Hallel. Psalm 118 and Psalm 118 begins

this way. Give thanks to the Lord, for He

is good. So here was our Lord leading

them in a final hymn of praise before he's about to be

sacrificed on Calvary's mount. And they sing Give thanks to the

Lord, for he is good. In fact, the last verse of that

same Psalm says Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

But right in the middle of that, these are the words of the sixth

song of the halal, verse 21. The stone which the builders

rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

They were singing the praise that the Messiah of the stone

would be rejected. And then it says this is the

Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.

What is the Lord's doing? The Lord's doing is that his Son

would be rejected. The Lord's doing is that his Son

would be crucified. For Isaiah 53 says it pleased

the Lord to crush his Son. And then that very familiar

verse, Psalm 119, or excuse me, Psalm 118 verse #24 this is the

day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.

What day is that? It's the day of the crucifixion.

We use that verse quite readily in the everyday conversation.

Well, this is the day that the Lord has made, but particularly

significantly. It speaks of one day.

That was the day the the stone would be rejected.

That would be the day that was marvelous in our Lord's eyes.

That would be the day that the Lord has made, the day in which

the Messiah would die. We will rejoice and be glad.

And the Lord LED them in that last song of praise, knowing

that he would make his way down the Kidron Valley, back up again

and ascend unto the Mount of Olives.

He would go there to pray. And it would be that night that

he would be betrayed, be that night that the temple police,

the temple guards, the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees would

come to take him away to be beaten and crucified.

That you and I might be saved. That's why we rejoice and be

glad. Why?

Because that's the day that the Lord made.

He made that day. He was delivered up by the

predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.

It was always the plan. And that's why, as our Lord LED

them in a a song of praise, He would sing along with them.

This day is marvelous in the Lord's eyes.

For this is the day that the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad. Why?

Because the Lord is good and His long-suffering, His loving

kindness is everlasting from generation to generation in the

people of praise. Praise Him by rejoicing in

worship for Saul. Let's pray together, Father.

We thank you, Lord, for this morning and the reminder of the

people of praise. This is who we are.

This is what we do. We don't forget your wonderful

works. We recite them, we remember

them. We respond with a thankful

heart. We are the ones who who radiate

with cheerful giving. We are the ones who truly

remember your sacrifice and rejoice knowing that we have the

benefactors of Your great grace. As you partake at the Lord's

table, help us never to forget what you did for us on Calvary's

tree, that we might obtain eternal life in Jesus name,

Amen.