Last week’s newssheet looked at how praise is ‘fitting’, for if we praise created things, such as an enjoyable movie, an exciting sports car, or a stunning pair of shoes, whilst ignoring all praise of the creator behind them, then we are failing to declare that God is the most delightful thing in existence. This week I want to look at a second aspect of praise, which is that praise is pleasant. We read:
Psalm 135:3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
As we know, praise is the outward expression of enjoyment. In fact John Piper says that without verbalising our enjoyment of something, we haven’t actually enjoyed that thing to its full potential. As such, declaring God’s praises, either in song, in prayer, or just discussing the glories of God with another, is HOW we experience the deepest enjoyment of God available.
Yet we can go even further, to say that praise is the ultimate expression of the meaning of life itself; ‘to bring glory to God and enjoy him forever’. Praise is the pinnacle of these two things. Firstly, praise is outwardly declaring to ourselves, to those around us, and to God, how glorious God is. Second, praise is the ultimate expression of our enjoyment of God.
What this means is, singing praises to God in church, or praising God in our private devotions in prayer or song, is meant to be the most enjoyable thing we can do in life. Not only this, it is meant to be the most fulfilling thing we can do, as we are engaging in the pinnacle of the meaning of life itself. If this isn’t the case for you, perhaps we can pray for God to change our heart, so that our praise is fulfilling the purpose it was designed to achieve; the pinnacle of bringing glory to God, and enjoying him forever.
