Praise

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
– Psalm 145:3

Our Lenten journey through Forty Words In the psalms is almost complete. Along the way we have been to the high and low points of human experience, and we have witnessed the reality of God who is present and active all through the journey. Nearing the end of the Book of Psalms, it seems fitting that the last entries are expressions of praise. Praise is a natural response for those who have experienced God.

Let’s start with a definition, as it often helps when we clarify our terms. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary offers simple definitions of the word praise. As a verb, praise means 1) “to express a favorable judgment: commend,” and 2) “to glorify especially by the attribution of perfections.”¹ As a noun it IS that favorable judgment or attribution of perfections. Regardless of the object, human or divine, praise is a right response when we recognize admirable traits in another.

Praise is a central feature of the psalms. Just through our Forty Words exercise we have recognized God as one who encourages, one who prepares for His children a rich heritage, one who offers strength through the storms and hope through the dark times, whose works are amazing and whose grace is inexhaustible. There is so much more we have observed, but this is sufficient to show us that our Heavenly Father is worthy of praise. Consistently the psalm writers offer their “attribution of God’s perfections.” It is their word of praise, and we are invited to join in the chorus.

I grew up with the practice of “going to church.” It is still common vernacular among Christian worshipers. Have you ever thought about the odd nature of that phrase? “Going to church” could suggest that church is a location, which we know it isn’t. It could also suggest that church is an event, but that isn’t exactly true either. Church is a body, an identifiable group of people who find their common purpose through Jesus Christ. The people of that body gather at appointed times out of loving obedience to the Lord. And yes, when that gathering happens, we usually call it “church.” But the thing that makes it “church” is what happens when the people gather. Among the key components of that gathering is praise. Praise happens through responsive liturgy, through the giving of tithes, through the expounding of scripture, through prayers and through song. Church IS a praise event. It is where the people of God recall and recount the perfect attributes of God.

This coming Sunday is Easter. It will be a great opportunity to enter God’s house remembering that praise is the reason you are there. On Resurrection Day, that should be pretty easy.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.
– Joachim Neander

1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/praise ↩︎