The Beginner's Guide to Worshiping God by Gary D. Kinnaman

Author:Gary D. Kinnaman [Kinnaman, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Worship, God (Christianity)--Worship and love
ISBN: 9781441266521
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

Praising the Lord Over and Over . . .

The Psalms don’t, however, tell us to say “praise the Lord” over and over and over, and my next few paragraphs are going to make some of you feel terribly frustrated. To say “Praise the Lord” is utterly meaningless, unless, of course, you’re following the lead of the psalmist and encouraging others to praise the Lord.

Let me put this another way. The Psalms command us to praise the Lord, but nowhere do the Psalms even remotely imply that the way we are to praise the Lord is by saying, “Praise the Lord!” Look at the grammar: “Praise the Lord” is not an expression of worship, it’s a command.

What if I tell you that God just healed me miraculously of a dreadful disease? Or that my child, lost for two days, was found safe? Would you say, “Praise the Lord!”? Why is “praise the Lord” such an uncontrollable response when we hear really good news? Think about it: If I share something wonderful God has done in my life, I’m the one who’s praising the Lord. When your comeback at the end of my story is, “Praise the Lord,” you’re commanding me to do what I have already done. You see, when I tell you about how good God is in my life, that is praise. I just finish giving God glory and praise, and you tell me, “Praise the Lord”? Maybe I should be insulted!

Or, what if you said to me, “Praise the Lord,” and suddenly I dropped to my knees, lifted my hands into the air, closed my eyes, and started telling God how grateful I was for some miracle in my life? What would you do? Would you be stunned? You shouldn’t be, because I would only be doing what you told me to do when you said, “Praise the Lord.”

I know, I’m beating this one into the ground, but here’s another way to think of it. Imagine me coming home after a long day. The wonderful aroma of roast beef engulfs me as I open the door. The table is set. The lights are low. Candles are burning. “Wow,” I think to myself, “Marilyn has been very thoughtful today,” but I say nothing. I don’t even look at her, and I don’t specifically acknowledge anything she’s done. I just blurt out, “Praise the wife! Praise the wife! Praise the wife!” Yep, you’d say I was nuts, and Marilyn, if she didn’t think I was just trying to be silly, might suggest that I go out and buy myself some fast food.

Okay, what to do? How about saying “alleluia” over and over? Nope, that won’t work, either, because “alleluia” is just a Hebrew word that means, literally, “praise the Lord.” No, I’m not suggesting that it’s some kind of sin if you shout “Alleluia!” or say “Praise the Lord.” I’ve talked about this particular “Christianese” problem off and on for years, and yet I still say, “Praise the Lord,” as superficially as anybody else.

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