From the depth and difficulty of yesterday's Psalm, we travel to Psalm 47. The intention of the psalmist is very clear here. Psalm 47:1 makes it plain that the desire of the psalmist is for everyone to praise the Lord. "O clap your hands all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph." We waste our breath praising a lot of things and people who are not all that worthy of praise. We'll talk about athletes, movie stars, or musicians with great adoration and praise when really, any talent not used for the Lord is not all that worthy of praise!
However, the God who "is the King of all the earth"; the God who "reigneth over the heathen" and "sitteth up the throne of his holiness," is worthy of every ounce of breath we have to praise Him. Praise is powerful in the life of a Christian. Psalm 22:3 reminds us that God inhabits the praise of His people. His presence lives in our praise! I know that sounds strange, but in those times when you can't sense Him close, try and praise Him. That's what Paul and Silas did in the jail cell, and my what a difference in made in their lives!
Not only is praise good because God is worthy, and His presence comes, but praise is good because it looks better on a Christian than bitterness or anger. Psalm 147:1 says, "praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely." In other words, praise looks good on you! Now we must be careful here, because praise is never about you or me, but about God! However, we do want others to see our good works and glorify our Father, and a very real way for them to see those good works is through our praise. Back to the story of Paul and Silas...how did the jailer know who to go to when he wanted to be saved? He had heard Paul and Silas singing in the jail cell before the earthquake occurred! Their praise produced the mighty move of God's power! The mighty move of God's power produced conviction in the jailer's heart. When the conviction set in, he knew who to turn to for answers.
In your workplace or at your school, do people hear you praise God? They may know you're a Christian, but do they know how good your God is because you praise Him so much? We serve the King of kings and Lord of lords who reigns in supreme majesty on high! HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!! So let's do it!
