A lifestyle of praise

                                           

A man invited a friend to go hear a preacher, saying, “I want you to hear the most thankful preacher I have ever heard.” The two men weathered a storm to hear him preach. On the way they thought nobody would be there; that even the preacher would not come. But when they got to the little country church, there was the preacher seated on the platform. The stranger said to his friend, “He has nobody to preach to. There’s a storm outside. It looks like we will have a flood. He won’t have anything to be thankful for tonight.”“Yes, he will. He will thank God for something.”

When the preacher stood up, he bowed his head and prayed, “Dear Lord, it is stormy outside. It looks as if the roads will wash away before we can get out of the church tonight. It’s an awful storm. But we are thankful that it’s not always this way.” The only way you can thank God for “all things” is to couple the “all things” of Ephesians 5:20 with the “all things” of Romans 8:28 . If you really believe that, you can thank God even for the bad things in life (Curtis Hutson, 2022)

Psalm 63 was written by David when he was hiding in the Desert of Judah (2 Sam. 15). He was king but his own son wanted to kill him. David had his own share of walking through dark seasons in life; from fleeing from his enemies to having moments of anxiety and wrestling with sorrow. Many of his Psalms are simple cries for help. Psalm 63 was composed during one of his dark seasons. Yet, it has no cry for help but gives thanks and praise to God for his love and faithfulness.

In Psalm 63:5-7 David says “because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings”.

In the Judean wilderness David makes a powerful resolution. In response to God's love, he commits to praising God. Verbs of praise dominate Psalm 63. David’s praise is not hidden or silent but a public display that involves spoken testimony, physical gestures (lifted hands) and joyous singing. In that dark season in his life when God seems silent and distant, David resolves to lift his hands up in joy, praise and thanksgiving.

Praising God was something common in David’s life. Even before he became great and famous, he was a worshipper. The book of Psalms captures some of his songs, poems, and prayers to the Lord. But, the full scope of David’s lifestyle of praises could never be recorded because most of his praise to God was in his heart and very personal. He sang praises to God in both the good and the bad times.

David praised God in good times by expressing gratitude to God for His goodness and power. In 1 Chronicles 29:10-22 we read about people freely and wholeheartedly providing materials for building the temple. David the king rejoiced greatly and praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “praise be to you, Lord,…everything in heaven and earth is yours…Wealth and honor come from you

In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name…Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple... comes from your hand and all of it belongs to you…I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you”. Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord... they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.

In 1 Samuel 4 we read that the Ark of Covenant was stolen by the Philistines. When it was brought back (2 Samuel 6), David celebrated by dancing before the Lord with all his might.  When his wife Michal saw him leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him and told him it was shameful for a king to behave like that. David said to Michal that he was dancing “before the Lord, who …appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord”. Michal had no children to the day of her death.

Psalm 103 was written by David most probably in his old age. The Psalm is full of  praiseful gratitude. It’s a song of pure praise. In verses 1-5 David says “bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”.

David praised the Lord in bad times as well. Psalm 34 is a Psalm of David when he pretended to be insane before Abimelek who drove him away. This refers to an event in 1 Samuel 21:10-15 , David took refuge in Gath when fleeing from Saul. He was in deep trouble but look at the first words of his Psalm. He says “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together (Ps. 34:1-3)

Psalm 63:4 was written by David while in the wilderness and in danger of being killed by his son. Yet, he says to God “I will praise you as long as I live”. Psalm 34 was written when he was in hiding because Saul wanted to kill him. He was driven away from the place he had gone to seek refuge. Yet David says “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth”. David’s praise in good times as well as in bad times suggest a lifestyle of worship that permeated every aspect of his life. They reflect a deep, unwavering devotion.

David said “I will give thanks to you Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deed. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O most high (Ps. 9:1-2). I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving (Ps. 69:30).  I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.” (Ps. 145:1-3).

David’s life marked by trials and triumphs exemplifies a heart that remains steadfast in worship. He continually worshiped God, regardless of the circumstances.  He reflected on God’s great love and faithfulness towards him over the years, in spite of his many failures. He composed and sung praises to the God who loved him so greatly and unconditionally. Putting God in the centre of his life gave him a balanced perspective in the crises of life.

David challenges us to maintain an attitude of praise regardless of our circumstances. We should make a conscious decision to focus on God’s goodness and sovereignty. Making praise a continual practise transforms our perspective and aligns us with God’s will. Praise should be a lifestyle rather than a mere reaction to favourable situations. Even in dire situations we can find reasons to praise God for his faithfulness.

The wonderful praises David gave to the Lord, in the presence of thousands when he was the king, were no different from what he was doing as a shepherd boy in the field alone. This is because praising God was a lifestyle. David danced before the Lord no matter who was watching. He never forgot his humble beginnings. He never forgot that it’s God who took him from tending the flock and made him king over Israel” (2 Sam. 7:8 ;1 Chron. 17:7; Ps. 78:71) .

The book of Hebrews was written to believers who were suffering persecutions. The author told them “let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name(Heb. 13:14-16). Ps. 50:14 -15 says, “sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High (a command) and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you (a wonderful promise) and (when I do that) you will honor me”.

 Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything (Ephesians 5:19-20). Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs...Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations (Ps.100).

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us come before him with thanksgiving  and extol him with music and song ( Ps.95:1-2).Let us give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. Let us sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy (Ps.107:21-22). Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp (Ps.147:1,7).

The book of Psalm concludes with a call to praise God with all forms of worship. The last Psalm (150) says “Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary;  praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.  Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre …praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord”

Hardships and difficulties are something that we all must face. If we are to overcome and find the strength to rejoice while in the midst of adversity, we must look at things from the proper perspective. Regardless of the trial we are facing, God has not changed. He is still God and He is still in control. If we can learn to focus on the Lord instead of the trial, we will come out the valleys of life stronger in the faith and closer to the Lord.

The natural outcome of A lifestyle of worship is that you will minister to and inspire those around you. People may watch you worship and maybe that makes you self-conscious, but remember this: God sees you too. The world around you will be inspired to worship the Lord as well and you’ll find yourself living life in the overflow! Like David make this resolution “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. I will praise you as long as I live”.