“Praise the Lord”
[Psalms 134]
I thought about God's sufficient grace based on 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” This was what the Lord told Paul when Paul asked the Lord three times to that his thorn of flesh might leave him (vv. 7-8). Paul, who received this word of the Lord, was greatly pleased because he realized that God's power was perfected in his weakness by the grace of God. Think about it. When he asked God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh, he didn’t receive the answer of his prayers, but God said, "My grace is sufficient for you." How could Paul able to rejoice greatly even when he had the thorns in his flesh? It was because of God’s sufficient grace. The reason why I thought about God's sufficient grace again was because my father-in-law, who had not received surgery last Thursday, was greatly pleased with God’s sufficient grace in his life and make that confession in front of his pastor and elder who came to visit him and they were thankful to God together. Although I didn’t know fully, but I couldn’t help but confess that our God is a good because how could you give thanks to God and be greatly pleased in that kind of circumstance. In the meantime, I remembered the gospel song “God is so good”: “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He so good to me.” God's sufficient grace that enabled Paul and Silas to praise God even when they could be executed the next day in prison can make us to praise God whatever circumstance that we may be in.
In Psalms 134, the psalmist repeatedly says, "Praise the Lord” twice in verses 1 and 2. What does the word “praise” mean here? The Bible has many words for “praise”. There are three of the most common terms. These three words illuminate the meaning of praise in different perspectives and contexts (Internet).
(1) The first word is "hillel".
The word “hillel” is the most common word in the Old Testament, which means praise and its’ basic meaning is ‘to boast’ and ‘praise’. This verse is used both in praise of man (Gen. 12:15; 2 Sam.14:25; Prov. 12:8) and in praise of God. On the other hand, the New Testament Greek verb “aineo” is used only in praise of God.
Praise ministry is the work of boasting and exalting God. It is to realize how wonderful God is, how wonderful He has been, and to express our amazement or wonder. So praise begins with an interest in God's character and works and is expressed with amazement about it. Praise is accompanied by admiration, excitement, emotion, pride, and joy as our personality encounters God's character and deeds.
(2) The second word is “hodah”.
It is often translated “thanksgiving,” but its basic meaning is “confession.” The Greek New Testament word “homologeo” also means ‘confession.’ The meaning of the word “hodah” is totally different from “thank you,” which is a reaction in our society to someone who gave us something good or did something good to us. Rather, the word “hodah” and its’ noun “toda” are often associated with tribulation, as in Psalms 50:14, 15 and 2 Chronicles 20:21. In other words, “hodah” is praising God, remembering that in a difficult situation, a good and faithful God rules the world, protects and cares for His children. Praising God in tribulation means seeing God's authority, power, and wonderful plan beyond tribulation and trusting God even if the situation is incomprehensible. Praise ministry is the ministry of enabling those who are praising God to trust God while they are looking at the authority and power of God.
(3) The third word is “berek”, which is used in Psalms 134.
In the Korean Bible, the word is translated into three words according to subject and object. When God "break" a man, it is translated as God is blessing him. When the man "break" another man, it is translated as he is blessing another man. And finally, when man "break" God, it is translated as he is praising God. Here, ‘praising’ means acknowledging or testifying that God is God rather than to bless God. While “hodah”, mentioned earlier, focuses on two things that is God’s nature and God’s deeds, “break” is a testimony of God's actions, especially God's grace and blessing. Also, while “hodah” confesses and remembers God's character during tribulation, “break” is a confession of gratitude for overcoming difficulties with God's help.
In Psalms 134, that is a song going up to the temple, the psalmist exhorts “all you servants of the Lord” to give God praise, a confession of gratitude for overcoming difficulties with God's help (v. 1). Here, ‘the servants of the Lord’ refer to the Levites (priests) who served the God's people in the sanctuary. These Levites (priests) refer to the faithful servants of the Lord who were even serving at night in His sanctuary. The psalmist exhorts all these faithful servants of the Lord to “praise the Lord” (vv. 1, 2). The psalmist is urging these faithful servants of the Lord who had been faithfully serving in His sanctuary with His faithful help to praise the Lord. The psalmist exhorted them to praise the Lord as they lift up their hands in the sanctuary (v. 2). This means to lift up your heart, that is, to praise God with all your heart (Park). What does God do to these people? The Lord will bless them. Look at verse 3: “May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.” The psalmist not only exhorted all of the Lord's servants who faithfully serve in the Lord's sanctuary at night but he also blessed them. In particular, the reason why he prayed that “the LORD, the Maker of heaven and the earth” to blessed them was because he wanted to let them know that God had unlimited power to bless His faithful servants (Park). This God, who is capable of blessing this blessing, blesses all His faithful servants.
God blesses all of His faithful servants who praise Him. I hope and pray that whatever circumstance we may be in, we will be able to give thanks to God and praise Him for His sufficient grace to us.
Desire to praise the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, all the days of my life,
Pastor James Kim