Praise the Lord! - Part 3 & 4: Foundations of Praise

PRAISE THE LORD!
Part Three & Four – Foundations of Praise
 
 
REVIEW
 
So we started a new series of teachings a few weeks ago entitled “Praise the Lord,” and my intention is that at the end of this series, this phrase means much more to you than it ever has before. Yes, I want it to not just be something that we say, but to be something that we do the way the Lord intends for us to.
 
Let’s look over again at the last Psalm we have recorded – Psalm 150 – where the Book of Psalms comes to a dramatic climax. Again, this psalm is a beautiful summary of the common theme we see in the first 149 psalms, and that is the title of this series, “Praise the Lord!”  
 
This Psalm reads – “Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
 
But what we noticed about this phrase/word is that it is a call to action. No, it’s not just there for informational purposes; it’s there telling God’s people what to do. So if I read in the Bible “Praise the Lord!”, what should my response be? It should be to praise the Lord, right? Yes, if the Scriptures say, “Hallelujah”, then I should stop what I’m doing and praise the Lord right then! Amen?
 
So, we’ve seen that praising God is not just something we are to observe; it’s what we are called to do! Yes, everyone is called to be a praiser, not just a select few.
 
In fact, we learned that praising God is more like a profession, occupation, and vocation for us. And like any full-time occupation, there are benefits to doing our job – which we learned are found in the 103rd Psalm when David described all of God’s benefits such as our salary, health/medical insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, etc. Yes, being about our Father’s business yields so many wonderful benefits, so it is in our best interest to walk in our calling.  
 
However, in order to partake of your employer’s benefits, you need to be a good employee, right? So we looked at some verses that describe what being a good employee looks like and learned from that how we can praise the Lord in a way that fully pleases our Master!
 
For example, we learned that being a good employee doesn’t just mean we show up and clock in to work. Likewise, we are not participating in the praise service just because we are here in the room when the song service is going on. No, doing our job well means we are participating by engaging the Lord, opening our mouths, pouring out our hearts, lifting our hands, setting our feet to dancing, etc., etc., etc.  
 
So if you missed either of these first two teachings, I’d encourage you to go back and watch or listen to them because today, we will begin building on these truths of doing our job well and reaping all the benefits of praising the Lord …
 
JOB FUNCTIONS OF PRAISE
 
But this week, I want to pick back up on this idea of being employed to praise – because like it is with any place of employment, there are certain job functions that are given to us. Yes, like it is with any job, we have a list of duties that our job entails so that we know specifically what is expected of us by our employer. And when it comes to these job functions, we are not at liberty to do just whatever we want when we work for someone else. No, we do it their way or it’s the highway, right?
 
Well, our vocation of praise actually does have some very specific job functions too! Yes, the Lord gives us some very specific ways that our praise of Him is expected to be done.
 
You see, if we look at all the various words used to translate praise and how they are used in context, we get some very specific & Scriptural ways in which praising the Lord is to be done. In fact, in the Hebrew language that the Old Testament was written in, we have a lot of different words used for praising God and all of them describe specific demonstrative actions that reveal what true praise is to look like.
 
Now as we begin looking at these things, you will be tempted in something … Your mind will try and come up with every reason why you can’t do things. You might say, “Pastor, that’s just not the way I am.” Well, like it is when it comes to our jobs, that won’t necessarily fly. If, say, we are in a customer service position, we can’t just wear our feelings on our sleeves when dealing with the customers, right?
 
Well, likewise, we can’t just let the way we feel determine how we praise the Lord either. Like Isaiah 61:3 says, putting on the garment of praise is our responsibility. Yeah, our feet might feel heavy, but if we kick those shoes off and set our feet to dancing, we are doing our job well.
 
I understand that we all like to do what we feel like doing, but I believe one of the best ways to honor the Lord is to do what He tells us to do regardless of the way we feel. It’s called faith. It’s also called honor, when we obey in the face of contrary feelings.
 
You know, there were a lot of folks the week before last who “put on” costumes and “dressed” themselves in things that weren’t at all who they are. Heck, they might have even worn a mask that had a smiling face when underneath, they didn’t feel happy at all.
 
Well, being spiritual is a lot like that – Sure, we have feelings, emotions, and personalities that are not inclined to praise God like we see described in the Scriptures. But “putting on” the garments of praise, like we are called to put on love, humility, kindness, etc., is just what we do as spiritual beings. In other words, we don’t let the way our flesh feels or has been trained determine the way we praise our God. Amen?
 
So what I want to begin doing this week is to look at these words and some of the Scriptures that they are used in so that we can get a clear picture of what the Lord considers true praise to be. And we will begin this week, with the most common Hebrew word for praise, the word halal.
 
So what we are about to learn about this Hebrew word halal is what we need to be prepared to put on. Happy Halal-ween! LOL!
 
First of all, let me remind you that the phrase “praise the Lord” that is used as a bookend on the 150th Psalm actually comes from the word halal, but it adds the word ya to it, which is the word for Yahweh/Jehovah (i.e. God or Lord). So halal is the primary word for praise that is used in hallelujah.
 
But by itself, the Hebrew word halal is used close to 150 times in the Old Testament and is translated “praise” the vast majority of the time. However, even though the word “praise” is obviously the primary way this Hebrew word is translated, it actually has some interesting other meanings that we can learn from …
 
The word halal literally is defined like so – "to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color), to shine (thus to give light) – which results in to make a show, to boast, to rave, to celebrate, and to be clamorously foolish, or act like a madman."
 
Okay, so when I read these various ways halal is being described, I don’t see a lot of this reflected in people’s praise lives, do you? No, I see very few people “shining” by acting foolish or like a crazy person during the praise time. And that’s not to condemn us, but it does need to be brought to our attention because if this is the job description of praise, then perhaps we ought to loosen up a bit and get to steppin’. 
 
But you see, even though we might not see it too much in our modern-day world, we do see it illustrated in the Scriptures, don’t’ we? We’ve looked at this already, but the way David danced before the Lord with all his might when leading the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem certainly looks a lot like halal is being described here. Both David & his wife considered the way he was praising God as being “undignified” and that was obviously because it was considered crazy & foolish.

So let’s now look at these descriptions of halal in detail:
 
PRAISE IN TRUTH
 
The first definition of halal as being “clear” is very important. This means that true praise has a clear sound to it – meaning, it’s pure. It’s true. In other words, God doesn’t want our praise to be with pretense. He wants it pure, true, and clear (i.e. sincere). So if you and I are going to praise the Lord according to His standard, then it must be in this manner.
 
You see, what happens a lot of times during times of praise is we hold on to our dignity. We don’t let loose and praise Him with reckless abandon. And if we were being honest, what is happening during those times is we are holding the way we look and the way we sound to others as being more important than the Lord’s opinion. It’s tight but it’s right.
 
Church, the Lord wants clear praise – that is, praise that is void of pretense and hypocrisy. He wants praise that is done in truth – that is, sincerely and without shame.
 
I believe this is what Jesus meant in John chapter four as He ministered to the woman of Samaria: You see, she brought up to him a great religious debate between the Jews and the Samaritans during that time - where ought one to worship - in Jerusalem or on this mountain? (See John 4:20) And of course, this is always what religion wants to do – argue about the technicalities of where to praise & worship and when to praise & worship. But Jesus corrected that error by saying that God is seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (See 4:21-24). So Jesus corrected this religious debate by basically saying – “It is not where you worship that matters to God. He is more interested in how you worship Him than where you worship Him.” And according to Jesus, the specific way He is seeking us to worship Him is in spirit and truth.
 
What does this mean—in spirit and in truth? Well, this can be argued up and down, but the bottom line is that Jesus was referring to the unseen aspect of worship.
 
“In the spirit” is obviously referring to connecting with God, who is a Spirit- spirit to Spirit. In other words, it is praising & worshipping Him from the inside out, which is an attitude of the heart. “In truth” obviously refers to worshipping Him in all sincerity – totally void of any pretense and hypocrisy. This is what God wants – praisers who do it from their heart and are sincere!  
 
So our praise is to be clear, not convoluted with ulterior motives and hidden agendas. The Lord wants our praise to first be done purely and freely. Amen?
 
BE THE LIGHT
 
Now this leads me to the next part of our definition for halal: It means to “shine (to bring light).”
 
So we will see here in a moment what “shining” will look like, but I want to first draw your attention to something very important about praise – that its not just something we do by our actions; its something we also do by just letting God be who He is in us. Amen! 
 
I believe Psalm 148, which is loaded with halal’s, shows us how praise is given to the Lord like this. This Psalm describes how all of God’s creation is called to praise the Lord! This includes everything such as the sun, moon, fire, hail, snow, clouds, mountains, trees, cattle, birds, etc., etc., etc.
 
Now how do all of these things halal Him? Sure, man can do some things to praise the Lord, but what does the rest of God’s creation do to praise the Lord? Well, they do this –They “shine” and “make a show” of the glory of God – teaching us that praise is not just something we do; its something we are. Yes, our lives & existence can praise the Lord! And as we learn what praise actually is, you’ll see that it is indeed more than just our own words; it is also who we are that generates His praises from others.
 
For example, have you ever visited a place and saw how beautiful the trees, mountains, waters, etc. were and glorified God for the beauty of His creation? Well, that’s how something else that God has created can generate God’s praise, because you praised Him for what they were putting forth.   
 
 
THE HEART OF PRAISE
 
Now what did we say was the result of this “shining”? It means that as the definition of halal goes on to say, our praise will “make a show, to boast, to rave, to celebrate, and to be clamorously foolish, or act like a madman."
 
Do you know what this means? It means you will stand out of the pack. You’ll be the one that seems to be in the spotlight even though that’s not necessarily your intention. No, if your praise is bringing light then folks will notice you – not because you want the attention or for people to look at you but because you simply don’t care that people are watching you. There’s a real difference there.
 
You see, while we don’t want to praise God to be seen of men, we also don’t want to hold our praise back because of the fear of man. We serve a God who is worthy of all the glory, and He deserves our clear and shining praise. Amen?
 
When we are doing it with the right heart and with no flesh holding us back, it will result in us maybe “making a show, boasting, raving (to speak out wildly & enthusiastically), to celebrate, and to be clamorously foolish, or act like a mad man."
 
Now the only place I ever seem to see what is being described here as being done is at a sporting event when someone experiences their favorite team doing something exciting. Sure, I see those people acting like “mad men, clamorously foolish, and raving.”
 
You see, why is it that these “fanatics” act “clamorously foolish” and like “mad men”? Well, the answer is simple. It’s because their fandom has a big chunk of their heart. Therefore, the key to operating in this kind of praise is having a heart full of the Lord. 
 
You know, sometimes in our attempt to do things correctly we forget a simple thing that God desires above anything else. And that is that He wants our heart. We can learn how to technically praise God better, but if our heart is not right, then it does not avail anything. I wholeheartedly believe that God would rather us have right hearts with wrong heads, than right heads with wrong hearts. In other words, regarding praising Him, He would rather have us saying the wrong things with the right heart behind it rather than saying the right things with the wrong heart.
 
Think about it like this: Whenever your kids were young and showed a lot of excitement when you got home from work, didn’t that bless you? I mean, when they met you at the door smiling, jumping, and clapping their hands because they were just so excited daddy or mama was home, that had to make your heart feel good, right? Well, that’s what I’m referring to here. God wants our hearts to be so full of Him that we show genuine & sincere excitement for Him, and we praise Him out of hearts that are so appreciative and in love with Him.
 
You see, when your kids did this to you, what exactly blessed you about it? Was it what they said, or how they said it? Was it because they so eloquently worded what they said or was it the fact that you knew, even though they used such simple terms, it came from their heart? Of course, it is what came out of their heart that blessed you. Well, God is the same. He would rather us mean what we say than say things that have no meaning to us. And He would rather us show great zeal & enthusiasm at the same time. It’s all about the heart, church.
 
A MORE EXCELLENT WAY
 
So now that we’ve dealt with some important foundation issues about praise like how it needs to be done in truth, how our lives can actually praise God just like our words, and how the principal thing is the heart behind our praise, let’s now begin to look at some technicalities of praise. Yes, let’s look at a few verses where halal is being used so that we can see from a Scriptural example what praise looks like …
 
The first time we see the word halal being used in the Bible is in Genesis 12:15, but it was not used regarding praising the Lord. In verses 14-15 we are told – “So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman (Sarai), that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.”
 
The word “commended” in verse 15 is the word halal. So what were these princes of Pharaoh doing? They were praising Sarai to Pharaoh. Now does this mean that they were approaching Pharaoh and saying, “Oh Pharaoh, we praise this woman!” No, of course not! What they were doing was more like this – “Yo Pharaoh, this chicha is gorgeous, man! She is one hot tamale! You need to see about her!” Someone’s thinking, “They didn’t talk like that!” You’re not that old! How would you know? LOL!
 
My point is that when folks saw how beautiful Sarai was, they started talking. And some of the people that started talking were the Pharaoh’s men. Likewise, when you and I see just how beautiful the Lord is, we will start “commending” Him to others – that is, we will tell of His beauty in a similar way that we would “praise” someone else for their good looks.
 
Here is another example of halal that is similar …
 
In Second Samuel 14:25 the Scriptures teach us that Absalom was “praised” for his good looks. Does that mean that people went around saying, “I praise Absalom! Oh, I praise Absalom!”? Of course not! Since it was his good looks that they were praising this is probably what they went around saying – “Girl, isn’t that Absalom good looking!?! My, oh my, his hair is so beautiful! What a man!” Church, this is praise!
 
So if this is what it means to “praise” God, how do we technically do it? How do we technically commend, applaud, or boast of Him? Is it by saying, “I praise You Lord! I magnify You! I glorify You!” Well, that is what most of us do, but is it the best way?
 
Certainly, as I previously made a point of, the attitude of the heart is what really counts. I have been in certain services where we sung things like “Praise the Name of Jesus, I Exalt Thee, O Magnify the Lord, etc.,” and you could tell that God was pleased. So I am not saying that we cannot minister to God by using this kind of terminology. Again, the heart behind it is what is most important. But what I am saying is there is a more excellent way of ministering to Him. (I feel like Paul when he said, “And yet I show you a more excellent way” in First Corinthians 12:31)
 
Let me give you another Scriptural example …
 
Last, but not least, in Second Chronicles 5:13 we have a great example of true praise… It says, “… and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: ‘For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,’…” Notice that it says that they praised the Lord saying. In other words, they were praising God as they said something. Said what? “For the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever!” (which is definitely the single most used “praise phrase” in the whole Bible). You see, this is a true statement of praise – To declare that God is good and that His mercy lasts forever is the praise of God.
 
So from these examples can you see what it truly means to praise God? It means to declare how beautiful and lovely He is to you! It means to boast in all that He has done for you! It means to tell how good and merciful He is!
 
You know, I think this would be a good time for me to demonstrate what true praise looks and sounds like  …
 
“God, I thank you for being so faithful to my family. You have been so good to us. Thank you for being true to your Word and performing your promises in our lives. You are so good! Your mercy endures forever! Your love never ends! Hallelujah! What a great God you are. You always provide for us, and we have never lacked any good thing. You are worthy to receive all praise, honor and glory. There is none like you. There is none higher than you. There is none who can compare to you. You are holy! Great is your name! I love you so much Lord. You deserve all of my heart. So I give it to you because you’re worthy.” Amen!
 
Church, this is how we clothe ourselves in praise. It’s what we put on. So while I’m not a fan of celebrating Halloween, I am a fan of this – Happy Halal-ween.