“My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:21 ESV)
In this final verse of Psalm 145, David comes full circle to where he began. In verses 1 and 2 he says, “I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.” Here in verse 21, David uses parallel language to again render praise to the Lord.
This is David’s crescendo in response to the divine greatness, goodness, grace, steadfast love, mercy, glory, dominion, provision, kindness, righteousness, preservation, and justice about which he has been speaking throughout the psalm. His response of praise is the only proper response to the panorama of divine attributes he has just described.
This is instructive to us when we consider the nature of proper praise. Certainly, we can—and should—labor to praise the Lord in all circumstances, but David’s actions provide an important reminder that praise is, in its essential character, responsive. Praise is not primarily something we conjure up in ourselves but the natural response of created beings when faced with the glory and transcendence of the Creator.
The most genuine praise arises not when we look inward but when we look upward. Praise ought always to be theocentric, not anthropocentric, and it is directional far more than it is experiential. The primary purpose of praise is to give God what he is due because of who he is, not to give the creature a spiritual experience. The therapeutic environment of many contemporary churches, however, often replaces true awe-filled praise of the thrice-holy God with a sort of Christian euphoria that many attendees have come to expect from worship services.
Perhaps this begs the question: what role does experience play in Christian worship? If we draw principles from Psalm 145, it would be more accurate to say that experience precedes praise than to say that the experience is found within the praise. David does not engage in praise in order to have an experience; he engages in praise because he has already had an experience. If we are feeling spiritually dry, and our hearts are struggling to praise God, the best antidote is not to put in our headphones, close our eyes, and put our favorite praise chorus on repeat, but to come into the presence of God, through the intercession of Christ, and behold his majesty.
If we want praises to pour from our hearts and mouths like they did from the psalmist of Israel, we should seek after the same thing for which he sought. As he says elsewhere in Psalms,
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple. (27:4)
David does not say, “One thing have I asked of the LORD . . . to have a feeling of spiritual bliss.” His request is to “dwell in the house of the LORD” and to “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.”. It is David’s experience of God that leads him to praise, not an experience of praise that leads him to God.
This is not to say that praise is something which should be devoid of feelings, but that when praise becomes about our feelings, we are entirely missing the mark of God’s intention for praise.
Praise is intended to be so much more than an experience, and we do ourselves an immense disservice to reduce it to such. Of course, the Lord grants peace and joy to his people, but he does so as we seek him, not through seeking those things in and of themselves.
The Lord is faithful to fulfill our desires, and we should look expectantly to him for such fulfillment. He does not require a cold and stagnant life of emotionless obedience. In his kindness, he restores even the most downtrodden of his sheep. Yet, we must always seek him and his presence, not merely the benefits that attend him. May David’s concluding words direct our hearts to the Lord, knowing that in so doing, our hearts will be aroused to praise the One who has redeemed us.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You are worthy of all praise. Like David, may we seek to gaze upon your beauty, that our hearts may be filled to bless your holy name.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for missionaries engaged in camp ministry in Romania.
- Wednesday: Pray for missionaries serving in pro-life ministry in Ukraine.
- Thursday: Pray for the evangelistic healthcare ministry of the Seigu Medical Clinic in Papua New Guinea.
- Friday: Pray for the 100 Fold publishing ministry in Tanzania.
- Saturday: Pray for missionaries serving in IT roles.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries who are discipling new believers.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries who recently arrived on their fields of service.
