How to Praise God, Part 2

October, 2003

by: John Richard

Many of us watch sports on a regular basis or at least have seen a sporting event within our lifetimes. As you have watched those games, many of you have witnessed athletes who have focused on themselves. There are numerous examples to pick from; such as a boxer proclaiming that he is the greatest, to another basketball player stating that he is the most dominant, from a football player going and taunting the others team's crowd in the middle of the field. The common denominator in all of these instances is that each of these men gave praise to themselves. They were the objects of their adoration. This is antithetical to the truth that the Bible teaches. Over this past summer as I studied and taught through a number of Psalms, one truth became truly conspicuous and that was God is to be the Object of our praise. Even though this truth may seem simplistic or repetitive, you need to answer this question, 'Is He the Object of your praise?'

In this month's article, we are going to observe the reality that He is to be the Object of praise from the Scriptures, and then we are going to take a look at how this eternal truth may not be a present reality in your lives. This profound truth permeates the anthology of Psalms. For example, in Psalm 100, the psalmist calls us to shout joyfully to the Lord (v.1), to serve the Lord (v.2) and to come before Him (v.2). He also calls us to enter His gates; give thanks to Him and bless His name (v.4). This truth is also clearly seen in Psalm 103, where David urges his soul to bless the Lord and His holy name (v.1). In Psalm 115:1, the psalmist writes, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory." Over and over again, we are called to praise Him and Him alone. Every person (Psalm 117:1) and everything that has breath is to praise Him (Psalm 150:6).

Our focus and desire truly needs to be the Lord. It is clear from the Scriptures and probably a fact that you have been taught continually. You may be thinking or desiring to tell me that you have this all down and don't need any help in this area. However, there is one item, which hinders everybody from continually appropriating this truth into his or her every day practice. There is one item, which is like a net that catches you very often. That one item, which is the opposite of having God as the object of your praise, is pride, which is when we have ourselves as the object of praise. Stuart Scott in his book, “From Pride to Humility” states,

When someone is proud they are focused on self. This is a form of self-worship. A person is prideful who believes that they, in and of themselves, are or should be the source of what is good, right, and worthy of praise... Pride is competitive toward others, and especially toward God. Pride wants to be on top. Thomas Watson said, “Pride seeks to ungod God.”

Pride is antithetical to having God as the Object of your praise, life, and passion(s). How are you doing in this area? Are you staying humble? Have your desires and wants surpassed the need to give glory to God in your life? Humble yourselves before the Lord (1 Peter 5:5-6) and give Him the praise that is due. He is the Worthy Lord!

Verses for further study: Jn 5:44; 1 Cor. 3:7; 4:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:9; Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4.