Psalm 98 is a very joyful psalm. We should be singing to the Lord
all the time, because He has done marvelous things. The verses in this psalm list some of
the things He has done.
He’s gained us Victory, Salvation, His righteousness, His mercy.
Verse 4 says
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth, make a loud noise
and rejoice and sing praise....
We have a lot to shout about. The rest of the chapter tells us that
the sea roars, and the rivers clap and the hills are joyful before the Lord. Did you ever
think that the noises that you hear coming from nature around you were praises to God,
not just a lot of noise? Next time you hear a bird sing, remember he is praising the
Lord.
Isaiah 55:12
For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. The
mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the
fields shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 44:23
Sing , O ye heavens for the LORD hath done it shout ye lower parts
of the earth break forth into singing ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein: for the
LORD hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel
Have you listened to the wind in the trees? Have you seen how the
branches move back and forth and brush together? They are praising God.
Jesus said in Luke 19:40 that if we don’t praise Him, the stones will
cry out. I don’t know about you but I sure don’t want a stone out praising me. So I think
I will praise Him as often as I can.
Some wonderful songs we sing in our church have shouting in
them.
"This Joy that I have" "What a Mighty God We
Serve" "Shout To The Lord" and lots of others. It is a good thing to
Shout to the Lord!
Psalm 66:1-4 talks about shouting unto God for all His awesome
works
He is awesome and the things he does are awesome and we need to
shout about it. Let’s tell God how awesome He is. Let Him know every day that you are
thankful for all the awesome things He has done.
What does God mean by a Joyful noise? Singing, Shouting and
Clapping unto God. Join in the singing, get involved with the praise with your whole
body.
Psalm 100 says to not only make a joyful noise unto the Lord, but to
come into His presence with singing and know that He is God.
If you really praise God from your heart, you will know His
presence. He will become real to you.
Verse 4 says, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His
courts with praise.
Let’s enter into the courts of the Lord and do it with our whole
heart.
Another part of praise and worship and certainly part of the noise, is
the clapping.
Psalm 47:1
O clap your hands all you people! Shout unto God with the voice of
triumph!
Everyone can clap their hands. It’s easy. God gave us instruments
right on the end of our arms. Even if you can’t sing, you can clap. So join in and use the
instruments that God gave you and praise Him. Verse 6
Sing praises to God, sing praises to our King, sing praises.
We are to praise God any way we can. Don’t say you can’t, because
you can.
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, for He is worthy to be
praised. Sing with your spirit, clap with your hands, our God is worthy to be
praised"
When you sing songs, listen to the words and mean what you say or
there is no sense in singing.
If you grew up in a traditional type church like I did, and all this is
foreign to you. You may think it is disrespectful to make all this noise and have fun in
church. But Heaven is a very noisy place. They don’t walk around with long faces and
whisper. It is a joyful place. So why should here be any different?
We don’t have any problem making noise and clapping at things in
the world. Ball games and things like that. Why is it so hard to clap unto God? You can
go to a ball game or a hockey game and shout and scream and no one thinks anything is
wrong. But if we do it in church, it is a crime? NO! God loves it!
"The Lord thy God in the midst of you is Mighty...He will
rejoice over you with singing"
Drop aside your reservations and just praise the Lord! Let go and
just enjoy it. Do it in your home! Do it anywhere you are! God will be right there with
you, singing and having a good time.
Praise is a vital part of Worship. It brings us into the presence of
the Lord and prepares us for worship. It is much easier to worship the Lord after you
have praised Him for all he has done. It is a stepping stone so to speak. The next step is
worship. Are you ready for the Presence?
