23 – Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow: Understanding Genuine and Prescribed Praise in Christian Worship
Follow up
- In case you didn’t catch it, we have a new Bomb of Galahad satire article up.
- Lauren Daigle’s song You Say is still #1
- Quick update to the Psalm model for writing worship music:
- The Psalm Model—Does the song follow the model of acceptable worship found in the Psalms?
- Lament—Does the song address God as God, bring a legitimate grievance to God rooted in the consequences of sin, and rest in the promises of God?
Main Topic: Praise Psalms
CCM is dominated with songs of praise, but that doesn’t mean that the songs offer genuine or prescribed praise. Much like a banker studies real money as an effort to guard against counterfeit money, we must learn what constitutes true praise in order to better recognize what is improper.
It is worth noting that nearly every Psalm has an element of Praise in it.
The Psalms utilize praise as a structural element, completing each of the five books with a hymn of praise (and completing the fifth book with five hymns of praise).
The episode where we briefly discuss Jamie Grace’s song Hold Me.
Eleven types of Praise Psalms
- Exalt
- Magnify
- Person
- Name
- Word
- Who He is
- What He has done
- What He will do
- Adoration
- Blessing
- Thanksgiving
Some scriptures we discuss:
Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. – Psalm 100:3
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. – Psalm 139:1-2
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! – Psalm 150:2
The very first song written and recorded in the Bible was a song rejoicing in the work of God:
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. – Exodus 15:1
7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” – Psalm 2:7-9
5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. – Psalm 110:5-7
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! – Psalm 103:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. – Psalm 136:1
Structure of a Praise Psalm
- Call to worship
- Reasons for praise
- Further calls to praise
This structure is from Tremper Longman’s book:
Longman, T., III. (1988). How to Read the Psalms (p. 24). Downers Grove, IL; Nottingham, England: IVP Academic; Inter-Varsity Press.
Thanks for listening
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