Why Should We Praise God?

[Psalm 47]

It is often said that praise has three kinds of power (source: internet): First, praise is “the power that rises upwards.” The praise that lifts us closer to God and draws us near to Him is a power that ascends. This kind of praise can be called “the guide of faith.” Second, praise is “the power that penetrates into my heart.” Praise that stirs us to comfort, peace, repentance, joy, resolution, and courage is a power that penetrates deep into our hearts. The praise that enters and gives us joy and courage becomes a guide to hope. Lastly, third, praise is “the power that extends outward.” Praise that calls forth faith and hope plays another important role: it is a “guide to love,” and this is the power that extends outward. Praise comforts the sorrowful heart, encourages us when we are depressed, helps us feel gratitude, and organizes our chaotic thoughts. The person who sings with vigor during worship is someone whose heart is focused on God and who feels the deep emotion of worship. Therefore, if we wish for grace to overflow, we must sing with all our heart.

We should offer such "powerful" praise to God. Why is that? Why must we praise God? Today, we will explore three reasons for praising God in Psalm 47. May we all be those who properly praise God as we reflect on these reasons.

First, we should praise God because He is the Most High God.

Let’s look at Psalm 47:2 and the latter part of verse 9:
"For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth" (v. 2),
"The shields of the earth belong to God; He is exalted on high" (v. 9b).

What does it mean that God is the Most High? It means that He is the highest, the greatest, and the most exalted God. It means He is supremely worthy of honor. When we praise the Most High God, we should not forget His majesty. This means we must remember that God is the object of our reverence (fear), and when we praise Him, we must approach Him with awe and respect. Though this should be obvious, sometimes it seems that in our praise, we are too casual and free-spirited rather than reverent. In other words, while praising the Most High God, we may forget our position and praise Him in a way that reflects our own preferences and comfort. Let’s think about this for a moment. Isn’t it natural that those who are the lowest of all should praise the Most High God with reverence and awe?

Is the praise offered to the Most High God truly elevating Him, or is it lifting ourselves up? When I think of the time of the Exodus, I recall the moment when Moses went up Mount Sinai, and the Israelites made a golden calf and began to “eat, drink, and” (Exodus 32:6) “sing and dance” (Exodus 32:19) and “rejoice” (Exodus 32:6). I wonder if, like the Israelites, we are praising God in a manner that involves eating, drinking, singing, and dancing, all while thinking we are honoring the Most High God. I feel concerned that we may, in fact, be praising God in ways that center around ourselves.

When we praise the Most High God, we must apply the words of John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease...” In other words, as we praise the Most High God, we should celebrate His greatness while recognizing that we must decrease. We must humble ourselves before Him and let go of our own glory.

We must praise the Most High God with humility. I am reminded of the hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (Hymn 40). Especially the chorus of this hymn stands out to me: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.”

Secondly, we should praise God because He is the Lord who loves us deeply.

Look at Psalm 47:4: “He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom He loved.” God’s love is demonstrated in His choosing the people of Israel and giving them the land of Canaan, the promised land, as their inheritance. This divine election is an expression of great love for those chosen. As the Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”

We, who have been chosen by God, are recipients of His boundless love, and so we must offer Him praise. In fact, the very purpose of God choosing us in Christ was to make us “the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:12). To put it simply, we, as God's chosen people, exist to bring Him praise and glory. Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God.

Therefore, we must praise God for His saving grace. Our praise should be joyful, and we should praise Him with instruments and music (Psalm 47:5). A hymn that comes to mind is “The Love of God is Greater Far,” Hymn 404, Verse 1: “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.” (Chorus) “The love of God is greater far, it never fails, it never ends; let’s praise His name forevermore.”

Lastly, we should praise God because He is our King who rules over us.

Psalm 47:8: "God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne." The God who sits on His holy throne, the "great King" (v. 2), the one who is the "King over all the earth" (v. 7), reigns over the nations (v. 8), and because of this, we must praise Him. This is why the psalmist exhorts us: "Praise God, praise our King"(v. 6). Furthermore, the reason we should gather as the people of the God of Abraham to praise the King is that this King, the Lord, is the one who protects us (v. 9).

We must praise the King with "songs of wisdom" (v. 7). This means we should praise God with a heart of wisdom that truly knows Him. This is truly important because often we praise God without being grounded in the right knowledge of Him. Emotional praise that is not based on the right knowledge of God runs the risk of becoming more about pleasing ourselves than pleasing God. We must praise the King, who is God. I think of the gospel song "King of My Life": "King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be,
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary."

As I reflect on the message of Psalm 47, a hymn that comes to mind is hymn #403, "For Me the Savior Died". It was written and composed by Robert Lowry (1826–1899). The original lyrics are as follows:

Verse 1:
"In ceaseless song my life flows,
Above the sorrow of this earth, a new creation resounds,
The soft praise heard from afar,
The music echoes, filling the air,
That sound will reverberate in my soul, how can I not praise?"

Verse 2:
"Though my joy and comfort disappear, my Savior still lives,
He sings in the dark of night, and though darkness surrounds me,
I hide in the Lord’s refuge,
And the storms cannot disturb the peace deep in my soul.
Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I not praise Him?"

Reading these original lyrics, I am struck by the line "In ceaseless song my life flows," which reminds me that our life and our praise are inseparable. As long as we have breath, we must praise the Almighty God, the God who loves us deeply, and the King who rules over us.

Enjoying the grace to praise God,

Pastor James
(Praying to be raised as a wise worshiper who praises God’s sovereignty)