PRAISE FROM THE HEIGHTS AND THE
DEPTHS
BREAD
15 Through
Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the
fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others,
for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV)
20 Early
in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat
stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the
Lord your God and you will be
upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people,
Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord
and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head
of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and
praise, the Lord set ambushes
against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and
they were defeated. 23 The
men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and
annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they
helped to destroy one another. 24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks
the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on
the ground; no one had escaped. 2 Chronicles
20:20-24 (NIV)
1 I will
praise you, O Lord, with all my
heart; I will tell of all your wonders. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise
to your name, O Most High. Psalms 9:1-2
(NIV)
7 I will
praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord
always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalms 16:7-8 (NIV)
1 I love
you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my
rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my
stronghold. 3 I call
to the Lord, who is worthy of
praise, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalms
18:1-3 (NIV)
1 Sing
joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on
the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing
to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful
in all he does. 5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Psalms 33:1-5 (NIV)
20 Fear
the Lord your God and serve him.
Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise; he is your
God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your
own eyes. Deuteronomy 10:20-21 (NIV)
3 I will
proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh,
praise the greatness of our God! 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his
ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:3-4 (NIV)
1 I will
extol the Lord at all times; his
praise will always be on my lips. 2 My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name
together. 4 I
sought the Lord, and he answered
me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are
never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them. 8 Taste
and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalms 34:1-8 (NIV)
20 Now to
him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according
to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
BUTTER
“I cannot understand Him, but I
can trust Him. And so today, when everything physical and
emotional in me is completely drained, and there is not a single note of praise
in my heart, I choose to praise Him anyway. Not for what He does,
but for Who He is. When I cannot praise Him out of joy, I will praise Him
out of obedience. And I am learning that when I praise Him out of
obedience from the depths of the pit, it is always more meaningful than when I
praise Him out of an overflow of my heart from the heights of the
mountain. And because I know His nature, and I know that even when I
don’t feel it, He is still a kind, loving, good God, then I know that soon, He
will fill my heart with joy once again. And the praise will flow easily
from the depths of my heart.” Laura Black
“Men in general
praise God in such a manner that He scarcely obtains the tenth part of His
due.” John Calvin
“There
is nothing that pleases the Lord so much as praise.” Anonymous
“Fill Thou my
life, O Lord my God, in every part with praise; that my whole being may
proclaim Thy being and Thy ways.” Horatius Bonar
“Whenever you
react with praise and thanksgiving for an opportunity to grow more like Jesus
in your way of reacting to things, instead of grumbling or feeling self-pity,
you will find that that whole situation will be changed into a great blessing.” Hannah Hurnard
“As believers determined to honor Christ with every portion of our lives, our lips should come into harmony with our actions as we praise God at every opportunity. This is how we live with a heavenly perspective—one that is set on the One who can transform our darkest situation into one of hope and light.” Michael Youssef
“If anyone would
tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness – he must tell you to make
it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to
you. For it is certain that whatever
seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn
it into a blessing. Could you therefore
work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit,
for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into
happiness. It be the noblest sacrifice
that the greatest saint can offer unto God.” William
Law
“Praise is
powerful because it removes our focus from the circumstances and turns us
toward God. Instead of seeing a desperate situation, we see an opportunity for
God to reveal His glory to everyone involved.” Michael
Youssef
“Praising God lifts us above our trials and reminds us of
how He overcomes them….Our praise reminds us of Who God is. As we worship Him, the threats and burdens
that weigh us down grow smaller and He grows bigger. The thought of an exalted God Who is entirely
on our side is an awesome inspiration….Praise is based on Who He is. And He is Who He is all the time.” Chris
Tiegreen
“Why was Job born? He was born for the same
reason Adam was created. He was born for the same reason the earth was created.
He was born, in part, for the same reason Christ was born and suffered and was crucified.
We all exist to glorify God. On the Day of Judgement, when the mangled, burned,
corrupted, and crucified limbs of God’s faithful are resurrected and made new,
and when voices that died crying in pain are restored singing in praise, even
Satan himself will bow in submission to the Lord who deserves all praise. This life is no simple matter of little lives
living private dramas. We are, since Eden’s loss, united in celestial warfare
with eternal consequences. We were born to stand; we are armed to fight. The good news is just that, through faith in
Christ, we were born to win.” Frances Poston Bennett
·
God delights in the praise of His people.
·
Praising and thanking God for our circumstances - though
perhaps not of our choosing - shows we believe He has our best interest at
heart.
·
God is good and He loves us all the time and His love
endures forever. He is ever worthy of
our praise and thanksgiving.
