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Sunday, August 10, 2008 pm

Sing Praises to God, Sing Praises!

Psalm 47

A short psalm that shows how much the writer wanted to praise God. Again, many commentators believe that this is actually a psalm of David, written either after a great victory, or more probably when the ark entered Jerusalem. The latter seems more appropriate (2 Samuel 6). In fact 1 Chron. 16 which records the ark being placed in the temple records a similar psalm (Actually repeated in Ps. 96 and others). IT was truly a time when David outwardly showed his praise and gratitude to God. It is a psalm whose main message is a call to praise God. That God is worthy of praise is something we have seen in the psalms over and over. But this psalm tells us some things about HOW to praise Him.

One author (Maclaren) believes that this is a Messianic psalm looking toward a kingdom which would be for all men. The Superscription is typical, the work being assigned to the chief musician and described as a psalm of the sons of Korah.

I. I. God is worthy of praise (1-4)

a. A call to clap and shout praise to God.

i. Clapping and shouting would be outward manifestations of inward gratitude. The psalmist is calling for praise that is public and even attention getting. This is one unashamed of his LORD.

ii. LESSON: We know that we ought to praise God.

1. When we praise God our outward actions OUGHT TO demonstrate the gratitude and love we have for Him. People should see how much He means to us as we worship and praise Him.

2. Every act of worship we are commanded to participate in praises God in one way or another.

a. As we sing together – we lift up our voices in praise to Him. James 5:13 says, “Is anyone cheerful, let him sing.” Our joy should cause us to want to sing. Especially when that is what we are told to do – Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, etc.

b. As we pray to Him – we follow along and as appropriate we say Amen. Prayer, like singing is a fruit of the lip (Heb. 13:15).

c. Our giving is to be from the heart and cheerfully (1 Cor. 16:1-3, 2 Cor. 9:6-7). While we do not brag or even reveal how much, our attitude as we give shows forth.

d. As we study – do we open our Bibles? Are we like the Bereans searching the scriptures (Acts 17:11).

e. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper we proclaim His death and are to do so “in a worthy manner” which the text (1 Cor. 11:23-33) shows includes both how we do and our attitude.

3. Let our praise be outward as well as from the heart.

a. John 4:24 – it must be in Spirit AND in truth to be pleasing to Him.

b. Each of these acts is personal, BUT our desire to participate is visible to others. What are we telling them? Consider the improper attitude of Malachi 1:11-14.

c. BUT, let us NEVER, NEVER let our acts be done to be seen by men (cf. Matthew 6:1, 5, 16, etc.) All that we do must be with humility!

iii. What about hand clapping and shouting today in worship? This is not authority for it for several reasons.

1. It has been present in the denomination world for a while now, especially among the charismatic churches. You see on television all the time where health and wealth are touted. But is there authority for such?

2. The passage we are studying was under the Old Law and thus it is NOT a source of authority for us. We cannot do anything by the authority of the Old Law. Christ did away with it (cf. Hebrews 8:13, Christ in saying a new covenant has made the first obsolete.

3. Further, it is believed by many that such things as clapping and shouting were NEVER commanded by God, but simply tolerated. This is also believed to be true of instrumental music. There were many things God tolerated under the Old Law, cf. Acts 17:30, Matt. 19:8.

4. Usually such outward expressions are more for those around than praising God. Watch a “service” on television at a mega-church. Sometimes the clapping erupts because of what is said (sometimes scripture, but often a joke or some poignant observation about society), but at other times it is directed specifically toward the one speaking OR PERFORMING! It is about entertainment AND attracting attention to one’s self.
BRETHREN, GOD DOES NOT NEED SUCH! He has told us HOW to worship Him. He recognizes our praise as it comes from the heart (see above) AND as it is according to His pattern (John 4:23-24, Colossians 3:17).
NOTE: This observation equally applies to instrumental music. They stand or fall together.

b. Why is God to be praised?

i. For the Lord Most High is awesome. “To be feared” – NASU, “terrible” – KJV, ASV.
The idea in this is that He is to be held in reverence or awe. The word in Hebrew is most often translated as fear (in its various forms), secondly as “terrible”.
The idea of the word is, “to fear, to revere, to be afraid” (BDB). Vine’s defines it as, “to be afraid, stand in awe, fear.”
The point is God is worthy of praise because of His great power over us. Fearing God involves being afraid of Him and His wrath – but only if we are rebellious and sinful. (NOTE: Perhaps this is the point the psalmist is trying to convey if this is read by foreign nations) When we obey and know Him, fearing God means that we show Him the greatest of reverence and respect. We hold Him in awe. IT is in that way that David means this word.
Because of its modern usage the word terrible is most unfortunate in our text because it is misunderstood to mean of the worst kind. While God’s judgment and wrath against the ungodly are of the worst kind (which is the intent of the text), the wording seems to say God is of the worst kind (which is totally false).
I like the word awesome, because it means that God is to be held with the highest of wonder in our lives. WE cannot fully know His greatness in anything, whether it be His wrath or love. But the word awesome presents the same problems because of its use in modern language as well, the word being used cheaply.
HAVING said all this, God is worthy of praise because of who He is – awesome and fearful (terrible).

ii. He is a great King(2-3)

1. God is THE ruler of the world. When this psalm was written it was the in days where kings ruled the earth and nations, whether David or some other time. Power and authority were established with might and conquering. There were many arrogant kings who wanted to rule the world by defeating nations around them. For those who enjoyed a measure of success, it was short-lived!

2. BUT, God IS King over all the earth, subduing all under Him.

3. NOTE: Let us consider this as we think of our Lord being our king – Col. 1:15-17, Phil 2:9-11, etc.

iii. He will choose our inheritance (4)

1. This is not teaching that man does not have free will, but rather that God is in control. His way CAN and will prevail.

2. The godly want Him to direct them – Jeremiah 10:23 (it is not in man to direct his own steps), Psa. 119:105 (Your word is a lamp to my feet). We need to be like Paul in Acts 9:6 who said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

3. The excellence of Jacob – His way IS excellent.
God always wants what is best for us and would NEVER steer us in the wrong direction.

II. II. Praise Him in Song (5-7)

a. Because God is worthy, let us praise Him!

b. God has gone up with a shout - What God has done here is known and visible. Just like the psalmist wanted to shout and clap, so God’s actions are “with a shout”.

c. Sing praises – The psalmist calls for singing. Just as Moses did in Deut. 31:19-21.
We SHOULD sing and we know it. But NOT because the psalmist mentions it here, rather it is commanded – Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16. We do what we do because tells us to!

d. Sing praises TO God – not to man. God is the one they were worshipping. The same applies to us.

e. Why? Because God is worthy we need to praise Him. He is king as the psalmist has already noted.

f. With understanding – what they did was to be coherent and with meaning. Just like us – 1 Cor. 14:15

III. III. God reigns over nations (8-9)

a. Again we see Him in control - These verses emphasize the reign of God over all nations.

b. He reigns over the nations, KJV - the heathen. God rules ALL.
It may seem like the ungodly are running things. They are in a way, but ONLY to the degree that He allows. AND He is aware of their ways and will judge accordingly.

c. The people of the God of Abraham – usually the term has reference to God’s people. God’s people are a part of all the earth. Back then it was the Jews. But remember that Abraham had many more people (Ishmael who had 12 sons & his 6 sons through Keturah – Gen. 25:1-2). The point is this could be looking to ALL who are His – cf. Galatians 3:29.

d. The shields of the earth. A shield would describe that which protects. Here it is natural forces and things. Like men, nature also submits to God. This is seen throughout the history of the Old Testament, and in figurative language.
NOTE also Romans 1:20 which notes that His invisible attributes are clearly seen… in nature.

And thus we see another psalm, this one, a psalm of PURE praise to God. Let us always remember the importance of praising God, not only when we assemble together, but throughout our lives: whether it be our example, our teaching others or as we worship Him in our homes and throughout the day. Are you praising God?