This is a continuation from the last post: ‘A Prescription For Praise Part 1 – Praise Should Be POWERFUL.’ To gain fuller context I encourage you to read this previous post before continuing. Our study is derived from Psalm 145 also known as the first Psalm of ‘The Final Hallel’ (Psalm 145—150).
Praise Should Be PURPOSEFULLY PASSED ON:
(2) ‘Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.’
Every Day! King David purposely and intentionally bless the LORD each and every day. Our modern praise is sad in comparison. Today we work all week to prepare for 1-2 hours of ‘public worship.’ The Bible speaks to the need for daily praise from the individual believer. We should meet with our assembly for scheduled times of worship and praise, but this does not exclude the necessity of the individual lifting their praise to God…on a daily basis! This is the prescribed praise David delivers to us here in verse 2.
If we would wake up with that goal in mind each day, it could certainly transform our lives. We are in a desperate need of transformation within our churches.
Chuck Colson in his book Kingdoms in Conflict, p. 181 said: ‘God has become irrelevant. Men and women may assert that God exists or that He does not, but it makes little difference either way. God is dead not because He doesn’t exist, but because we live, play, procreate, govern, and die as though He doesn’t.’ We do not acknowledge Him in our daily lives. We do not take time to praise Him for the victories and blessings. We certainly do not remember to praise Him for the more difficult situations.
This is critical to our spiritual well-being. Philippians 4.8 states- ‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.’ As mentioned: ‘if there be any praise’ – we should ponder on it, think on it, focus our mind upon it. If we have no attention to daily praise, then we have nothing to think on positively. We will then rely on the flesh, the world, and the devil- the enemies to our spirit. Praise is purposeful. Daily purposeful.
It is not just to be done so purposefully, but PASSED ON purposefully. In verse (4) ‘One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.’ It is imperative that the present generation focuses on their responsibility to share the praise and works of God to the next. If we fail at that responsibility what could happen? We will raise a generation of negative Nancie’s— complaining, ungrateful people. We may already have! We complain, instead of praise. Is there anything praiseworthy? Is there anything that can be refocused? I’m confident that we can change the tide of our youth in our churches if we would only demonstrate a purposeful praise to them. Show them! Teach them! Live it in front of them! Declare His mighty acts! Praise Him for who He is AND for what He has done! Our churches are ignorant of the attributes of God in a practical everyday sense. Why? Because they have not been passed on. They are not to be forced to follow or manipulated with. Rather they can easily be demonstrated by taking every purposeful opportunity to declare our praise to God in the presence of our next generation. Take the opportunity today to praise the LORD… in front of others!
Encourage your generation and the next to make a daily commitment to purposefully pass on the praise of our LORD.