Let's Just Praise the Lord, Part 1

Recently, Chuck Swindoll began an in-depth teaching series on the Holy Spirit called, Flying Closer to the Flame. Today, on Insight for Living and again on the next program, Chuck will present the closing message in his 14-part series. In light of all we've learned, Chuck decided to finish our study, not with more information, but with worship. We've been to cultivate intimacy with the Spirit, and worship is a fitting expression of our affection.

Chuck titled today's message, Let's Just Praise the Lord. For those of us who truly want to fly closer to the flame, we have one last flying lesson to offer, soaring on the wings of praise. I can guarantee if you practice this spiritual discipline regularly, you'll develop your wings to fly higher and farther, and closer to the Lord than you have probably ever flown before.

Are you afraid of flying so high, of veering out of control and into uncharted lands? I really want you to take heart with this message. Because with just a little basic training from the Psalms, we can overcome these obstacles, enabling you to take off and actually fly solo as you soar on the wings of praise. Flight School will be held in the last five chapters of God's hymnbook, known as the Psalms. That would be Psalm 146 through Psalm 150. Let me read for you from Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, The Message, sections of all five of these Psalms. 146 begins, Hallelujah! O my soul, praise God!

All my life long, I'll praise God, singing songs to my God as long as I live. Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don't have what it takes when they die. Their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob.

Put your hope in God and know real blessing. God made sky and soil, sea and all the fish in it. He always does what is right. He defends the wronged.

He feeds the hungry. And then when we move into 147, it begins, Hallelujah! It's a good thing to sing praise to our God. Praise is beautiful. Praise is fitting. A little later in the Psalm, we read, Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn.

Play music on your instruments to God, who fills the sky with clouds, preparing rain for the earth, then turning the mountains green with grass, feeding both cattle and crows. He's not impressed with horsepower. The size of our muscles means nothing to Him. Those who fear God get God's attention. They can depend on His strength.

148 begins in a similar way. Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven. Praise Him from the mountaintops. Praise Him, all you His angels. Praise Him, all you His warriors. Praise Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, you morning stars. Praise Him, high heaven. Praise Him, heavenly rain clouds. Praise, oh, let them praise the name of God. He spoke the word, and they were there. He set them in place from all time to eternity.

He gave His orders, and that's it. The Psalm concludes, Praise from all who love God, Israel's children, intimate friends of God. Hallelujah!

And then the 149th Psalm in a similar way begins, Hallelujah! Sing to God a brand new song. Praise Him in the company of all who love Him.

It continues, Let true lovers break out in praise. Sing out from wherever they're sitting. Shout the high praises of God. Brandish their swords in the wild sword dance. A portent of vengeance on the God-defying nations. A signal that punishment is coming. Their kings chained and hauled off to jail.

Their leaders behind bars for good. The judgment on them carried out to the letter. And all who love God in the seat of honor. Hallelujah! And now for the complete 150th Psalm.

You must listen carefully. Hallelujah! Praise God in His holy house of worship. Praise Him under the open skies. Praise Him for His acts of power. Praise Him for His magnificent greatness. Praise Him with a blast on the trumpet.

Praise by strumming soft strings. Praise Him with castanets and dance. Praise Him with banjo and flute. Praise Him with cymbals and a big bass drum. Praise Him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God.

Hallelujah! Few people could express my closing thoughts on the Holy Spirit better than the late, great Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Hear his words. Common to common is the sin of forgetting the Holy Spirit.

That is folly and ingratitude. As God, He is good essentially. He is good benevolently. Tenderly bearing with our waywardness. Striving with our rebellious wills. Quickening us from our death in sin.

And then training us for the skies as a loving nurse fosters her child. He is good operatively. All his works are good in the most imminent degree. He suggests good thoughts, prompts good actions, reveals good truths, applies good promises, assists in good attainments, and leads to good results. There is no spiritual good in the world of which he is not the author and sustainer. They who yield to his influence become good. They who obey his impulses do good.

They who live under his power receive good. Let us revere his person and adore him as God over all blessed forever. Let us own his power and our need of him by waiting upon him in all our holy enterprises. Let us hourly seek his aid and never grieve him. And let us speak to his praise whenever occasions occur.

The Church, he concludes, will never prosper until more reverently it believes in the Holy Ghost. Join me in prayer, will you? Good Father, we know of no other words to use in expressing our gratitude than these words we have used. We simply praise your name, not just because of what you do, but because of who you are, which is a far more profound thought. Because you are faithful, even when we are not. Because you are good, even when we fail and are downright bad.

Because you are immutable, even when we change and move with the moods of the moment. And Father, because you are who you are and because you do what you do, especially these recent days in our lives, we gather today just to praise your name. And make it a time of inestimable value in our faith as we are strengthening one another in the songs and in the words and in the time of quietness before you. In the praiseworthy name of your Son, we commit to you this time together. Amen.

You're listening to Insight for Living. Today and again on the next program, Chuck Swindoll is presenting the final message in our study about the Holy Spirit flying closer to the flame. This sermon was delivered on the heels of an exciting announcement for the church that Chuck served as senior pastor. Last Sunday we experienced a major miracle. This Sunday we're about to experience a minor miracle. The major miracle last Sunday was the provision of $62,000 plus when we asked God for $50,000 for down payment on our land. The minor miracle is my preaching through five Psalms in 25 minutes. So turn fast to Psalm 146 this morning if you will and let's work our way through these great Psalms which Charles Haddon Spurgeon called the Hallelujah section of God's hymn book.

And I'll tell you why he said that. Because you will observe in these Psalms the same beginning and the same ending in each one of these five, 146 through 150, you will find the same words, praise the Lord. Well why would Spurgeon call this section the Hallelujah section? Because the words praise the Lord are the translation words of the one Hebrew term Hallelujah. Hallelujah is not an English word as much as we might like to take credit for it. It is in fact a Hebrew term from two words. Halal which means to boast, to extol, to exalt, Yah.

The first three letters that represent Jehovah in the Hebrew Bible. Boast in Jehovah. That's what Hallelujah means. All the way through these five Psalms the word praise appears. In fact there are 59 verses and 44 references to praise.

It is filled, it is flooded with the thoughts and words of praise. Now we live in a day in which Hallelujah has been cheapened by talkative saints. The word has turned into a Christian slang unfortunately. We in fact even use it with an irreverent tone when we refer to something and say well Hallelujah that happened. It was never designed for such a profane use. As a matter of fact it is one of the few words, few one word exclamations throughout the Old Testament that are designed for specific praise to God.

Let's put a checkpoint on our tongue as to how we use that word. We're going to learn about praise in these five Psalms together. Now there's one other thought I want to give you for the whole section which Graham Scroggy calls the pen-tad of praise. The last five hymns in God's hymn book. That is the Psalms are all very realistic but they are joyful. In other words what I am saying is that those who literally give praise to God are not unrealistic people. They are realistic people who live in realistic times but their hearts overflow with joy.

Now that isn't congruent as far as human experience is concerned. When under the load we don't usually praise. But in the Christian way of life when under the load God has one formula to keep you joyful and that's praise. I hope that comes through when you harmonize your thoughts with the blending of God's hymnody this morning. That you realize God has one basic harmony. Praise harmonized with joy.

Without one you will never have the other. Let's go to Psalm 146 and I purposely not given you an insert for your bulletin. I want you to make the notations in the Psalm itself. So get your pen handy or your pencil and if there is just a word or two that strikes a chord in your mind put it down here by the Psalms.

For all you know these may become a quiet resting place for you in the year or so that's ahead of you when we face this program together. Psalm 146 talks about when to praise. If you were asked me to give a title for the Psalm it would be simply those three words. When to praise. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord oh my soul.

You will observe that praise is not simply lip service though it comes from the lips. It is soul service. The Psalmist is saying to himself before God oh self down in the soul give God praise. That's the thought here. Oh soul lift yourself in praise to God.

When do I do it? While I live verse 2. While I have my being verse 2. In other words praises are not designed for the dead but for the living. Not for the unborn but for the living. I would like to use it even more specifically and say it is for now.

Right now. Don't think of it like this. Oh some day in the future I will be able to praise the Lord.

Or I remember those days back in 1950, 60. Wow what great days I gave God praise. That's not the purpose of praise. Praise is built for now.

Today there is only one qualification. That you are alive. Most of us qualify at that point. That you have your being. Most of us thank God. Have our being. Have our minds. If you are alive and you have your mind, give God praise.

Well you say under these circumstances I can't do that. What are you doing under there? God has designed a life that is above the circumstances. Look down at verse 5. How blessed the word means happy and every time it appears in the Hebrew it is in the plural.

Oh the happiness says many times over. Is he whose help is the God of Jacob. Whose hope is in the Lord. That Psalm is directed to those that need help. And need hope. Praise is the answer. You say I'm in need of help God of Jacob.

I need hope. Oh Lord God that's the answer for you. Learn to extol the Father. Learn to give him praise. Let me back off and take a moment to explain it because we are strangers to praise. I would venture to say that it would be a safe guess that the majority of you do not praise God. Simply because you don't understand it. It sounds Pentecostal frankly.

It does. It sounds unusual because you don't know how it differs from thanks. Oh but God's written the Bible to the saint. Not to a denomination. It's for all God's saints. What does it mean to praise him? To praise the Father means to express words of adoration to him for what he does for who he is.

Self is out of the picture. Praise isn't thanksgiving. When you thank the Lord you thank him for something he did for you or gave you.

You're in the picture. When you praise the Lord you say to him, Father I praise you. You are faithful.

You are immutable. You are praiseworthy. You come to my rescue. You take care of my every need. You lift my heart with joy.

You do all of these things. I praise you for your work. I praise you for your person. I praise you for my life. I praise you for your word. I praise you for your plan.

That whole dimension is missing and it is conspicuous by its absence from our kneeling time. The Psalmist says when are we to praise him? Whenever you need help, whenever you need hope. That's all the time.

That's a marvelous therapy when you're under the weather. Psalm 147 talks about whom to praise. Not where.

Not how. But whom. 146 talked about when.

As long as you have your breath. Psalm 147 tells us whom to praise. Now here is the answer right in verse 1.

The Lord. It is good to sing praises to our God. It is pleasant and praise is becoming. You know what we just did in the early part of the service brought pleasure to God?

It did. He tells us in verse 2 that it's good that in verse 1 that we do that. In fact it is pleasant and it is becoming. The Hebrew word means lovely. God looks at the praise of a congregation such as this and he says that's lovely. That's beautiful. Because we are praising him.

Now let me level a warning because it's timely in our day and age. We are so enamored with praising people that to come together without praising people has almost become an unusual thing. God is pleased that we praise him. Read the average church newsletter. Look at the average church bulletin.

Listen to the average church conversation. It is shot through with praises for people. Give him the average church service and you will hear words and people and names given as praiseworthy. Now I realize there are times that thanks and praise is even due to certain individuals. But I believe the heart of God must at times be wrong and almost broken that his name is so seldom praised without some person's name attached to it. It's good that we praise our God.

It is becoming. It is lovely. We live in such a horizontal lock that our mindset links us only with the praising of people and I think at times the vertical channel is so clouded, so foggy. As a matter of fact, I believe God gets left with the leftovers when it comes to praise. How much time have you spent in the last week giving him praise alone?

Just him. How many of you when you got the news concerning the provision of this marvelous amount of money and I commend you for the kind of giving you demonstrated. I think that information spreads like wildfire to saints that are discouraged. So many left them last Sunday night saying, oh, this has strengthened me in areas that are not even related to this church. I needed that object lesson of what God did.

I needed that. But I wonder how many on their way home or by the time you got home got alone and said, oh, God, praise your name, praise your work for what you have done through my hands and the hands of our beloved friends and saints together. You see, he says it is the Lord who is to be given the praise. Verse 2 tells you he builds up. Man doesn't.

He gathers the outcasts. We don't. We reject him. He heals.

We don't. His understanding, you need someone understanding, it's infinite. That's why when you go to praising the Father, you just need to open the Psalms and read them to him. When good things happen, we often tend to look horizontally and perhaps give our friends and family their credit.

The Bible teaches that when good things happen, God above all deserves the praise. You're listening to Insight for Living, and to learn more about this ministry, we invite you to visit us online at insightworld.org. Today's program features the final message in Chuck Swindoll's teaching series about the Holy Spirit.

It's a 14-part study that concludes next time. And if you're prepared to cultivate your understanding of the Spirit's role in your life, I highly recommend reading Chuck's book called Embraced by the Spirit, The Untold Benefits of Intimacy with God. In Galatians 5 25, Paul wrote these words, If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. A strong counsel from Paul about cultivating our walk with God. And in Chuck's book, you'll discover the wonderful outcomes when we walk right alongside God, keeping in step with his Spirit. To learn more about walking in this way, request a copy of Embraced by the Spirit by Chuck Swindoll.

It's available for purchase when you call us. If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888 or visit insight.org slash store. Well, Chuck will be starting a brand new teaching series soon, so be sure to listening for this time-sensitive study called Clinging to Hope. In closing, I'll remind you that your generous donations are what empower Insight for Living to deliver these daily Bible studies. When you give, you're actually making it possible for others in our country to have access to Chuck's Bible teaching. A day never passes without hearing from someone who writes or calls to tell us how much they value the spiritual lessons and encouragement they receive through Insight for Living. So thanks so much for giving generously to this nonprofit ministry. To give a donation today, call us.

If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888, or you can give online at insight.org. Cruise ships leave the harbor for Alaska all the time, but there's only one that's hosted by Insight for Living Ministries. You're invited to travel with Chuck Swindoll this summer. Every moment of your vacation is thoughtfully prepared and protected so that you can enjoy the perfect balance of rest, adventure, relaxation, sightseeing, and just plain fun, all in the company of those who share your respect for God's Word and God's creation.

Yeah, I'll put it this way. God had a very good day when He created Alaska. I was awestruck by the majestic mountains, the wildlife, the quaint little seaports. All my life, I've wanted to see a glacier.

When I stepped out on the deck of our ship and witnessed the massive wall of ice, wow, it was truly breathtaking. Escape with Insight for Living Ministries to the great frontier, July 1st through July 8th, 2023. Call 1-888-447-0444. That's 1-888-447-0444. Or learn more at insight.org slash events.

The tour to Alaska is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. I'm Bill Meyer, urging you to join us when Chuck Swindoll concludes his series called Flying Closer to the Flame, Wednesday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Let's Just Praise the Lord, was copyrighted in 1975, 1993, and 2003. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2003 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.