Where Are My Praisers?

 

 

Where are all of God's Praisers? Where are those who will unashamedly "show forth" His praises, marvellous works, Righteousness, Salvation, Lovingkindness, and Faithfulness?

 

"When Queen Victoria had just ascended her throne, she went, as is the custom of royalty, to hear the Messiah rendered. She had been instructed about her conduct by those who knew and was told that she must not rise at the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. When that magnificent chorus was being sung and the singers were shouting, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth", she sat with great difficulty. It seemed as if she would rise in spite of the custom of kings and queens, but finally when they came to the part of the chorus in which with a shout they proclaim Jesus King of kings, suddenly the young queen rose and stood with bowed head as if she would take her own crown from off her head and cast it at her Master's feet."

 

"If one should give me a dish of sand and tell me where there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my eyes and search for them with my clumsy fingers and be unable to detect them. But let me take a magnet and sweep through it, and it will draw to itself the almost invisible particles. The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no blessings. But let the thankful heart sweep through life, and as a magnet finds the iron, so it will find in every day some heavenly blessing."

 

                  - Both quotes taken from the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS

 

Psalm 106:2 says - "Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can show forth all His praise?"

 

The words "show forth" are used repeatedly throughout the Book of Psalms. They simply mean to relate, declare, speak, tell out, narrate, recount, number out, and reckon up.

 

There are four basic Scriptural details that we are to "show forth" throughout our days on this earth - four particulars that should fill our conversations with others.

 

#1 We Are To Show Forth God's Praises

 

To whom are we to declare the glory and fame of our God?

Psalm 79:13 tells us - "...we will show forth Thy praise to all generations."

From one generation to another, we are to perpetrate the remembrance of God's gracious acts towards us.

 

In Psalm 71:18, David said - "Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed Thy Strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come."

 

We are required by God to show forth God's Praises to our children and grandchildren.

Are we doing that?

Are we recounting for the younger generation the Strength and Power of the Lord, as manifested in our lives?

Are they learning to lean on the Arm of the Lord rather than the Arm of the Flesh because of our testimonies?

Where are we to Show Forth the Praises of God?

In Psalm 9:14, David said - "That I may show forth all Thy Praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion..."

"Gates," in Biblical times, oftentimes referred to the marketplace or a meetinghouse. It referred to a general place of concourse where important transactions were performed.

"Daughter of Zion" referred to the city of Jerusalem.

 

Whether we are in the marketplace or in the Church house, we are to declare the wonderful Praises of God.

Why are we to Show Forth the Praises of God?

Isaiah 43:21 says - "This people have I formed for Myself; They shall show forth My praise."

We "show forth" or celebrate God's goodness because we are His chosen, set apart people.

 

We "show forth" the Praises of God simply because we are not our own(1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

We are bought with a price - the Precious Blood of Jesus.

 

#2 We Are To Show Forth All Of God's Marvellous Works 

 

In Psalm 9:1, David declared - "...I will show forth all Thy marvellous works."

These "marvellous works" that David was referring to were all the miracles or supernatural interventions of God's Goodness and Power in his life. They were the extraordinary, wonderful, far surpassing, "beyond one's power," "difficult to do," and "difficult to understand" acts of Almighty God. 
 

                                                                                                                         

With undivided affection, we are to tell others of all the wondrous things God has done and is doing for us.

Are we doing that?

Are we giving God the Glory due His name for all of the miracles we have encountered in our lives?

 

#3 We Are To Show Forth God's Righteousness And Salvation All Day Long

 

In Psalm 71:15, David said - "My mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof."

In other words, David declared that, all day long, he would talk about God's righteousness - His righteous character, justice, truthfulness, rightness, and virtue. All day long, he said that he would tell others about God's salvation  - the many times that he was rescued, delivered, and helped by His mighty intervention. 
                                                                                                                       

"For I know not the numbers thereof" - In other words, the blessings and favor of God bestowed upon us are innumerable. We must continually be in praise, declaring God's Righteousness and Salvation.

 

#4 We Are To Show Forth God's Lovingkindness And Faithfulness

 

In Psalm 92:2, the Psalmist said - "To show forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night."

God's "Lovingkindness" refers to His mercy, goodness, kindness, and favor.

His "Faithfulness" refers to His fidelity, steadfastness, firmness, and truth.

 

Why should we celebrate God's Mercy in the morning and His Faithfulness at night?

 

We "show forth" His Lovingkindness in the morning because we have been preserved from the dangers of the night while we were asleep. We celebrate His Faithfulness at night for He fulfilled all His precious promises to us throughout the day.

 

Where are all of God's Praisers? Where are those who will unashamedly "show forth" His praises; His marvellous works; His Righteousness and Salvation; and His Lovingkindness and Faithfulness?

 

May God find us faithfully going about our business each day, boldly telling all about the wonderful God Whom we serve!

 

Connie