The Priority of Praise

June 25, 2006. The Priority of Praise. Psalm 33:1-5.

The second message in our 'City of God' series concerns why the citizens of Zion place a priority on worship. If Zion is known for anything it is the constant and consistent joyful worship we give to our great king and God Jesus Christ. Worship is so central to who we are that we gladly arrange our lives and schedules around the day of worship. Psalm 33 gives numerous reasons why we prioritize worship three of which are revealed in vss. 1-5.

Why does Zion prioritize worship and why is it so central to our lives?

Zion prioritizes worship because it is the sensible, reasonable, and logical response of the righteous.

The Hebrews approached worship with a burning sense of joyful anticipation. During the times when they lived faithfully to covenant it was indeed the highlight of their lives. Psalm 100:1-2 (NIV)
A psalm. For giving thanks.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 95:1 (NIV)
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

This is the blessing of the righteous. The term translated righteous means being right and blameless in God’s sight. The same term is used in Gen. 15:6 and Hab. 2:4 to speak of justification by faith. We’re righteous because of the Person and Work of Christ.
This is the right standing He earned during His earthly life. It is one spoken of and revealed in Scripture and the only righteousness that God will accept to enjoy His presence forever. This righteousness is obtained through faith alone and given on the basis of God's grace alone in Christ. Moreover, it is a permanent righteousness that can never be lost, taken away or forfeited. Anyone who wants this perfect and permanent right standing before God can have it by putting their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

God centered praise and worship is a both sensible and suitable to those who are walking uprightly. The word translated uprightly conveys the sense and direction of a life of righteousness. It is the only proper expression of those who’ve been granted the power and wisdom to live according to the gracious rule of our living Lord.
We’ve been rescued from the deceptive destructiveness of sin given new life in Christ so that we can pursue lives focused on God's peace, justice, purpose and holiness. Also this new life means that we are no longer trapped into following old, unfruitful, ungodly ways of thinking, speaking, living and coping any longer.

Our worship arises from our humanity. God encourages us to make use of the creative imprint He’s placed within our culture. He invites us to worship Him using culturally derived language, musical instruments and forms of singing to express our praise and worship with great joy.

Zion prioritizes worship because it allows us to focus on His supreme character.

His word is truthful in all respects concerning the nature, character and works of God. Thus we praise Him because His word reveals to us what's important about our Covenant Lord.
His word accurately reflects what He deems is right and wrong and tells humanity the way to enjoy a covenantal relationship with Him. His word provides wisdom regarding the way we should live for His glory and our benefit. The word of God gives spiritual nourishment to us in a world that is only capable of serving up a constant diet of debilitating junk food for our souls and minds. His word empowers us to engage our culture in the pursuit of peace, justice and righteousness knowing that we stand on absolute, unchanging truth. Finally we praise Him for His truth is embodied in Jesus Christ who came to earth and lived among His people and was thus the fullest and most complete embodiment of truth the world has ever known.

He is faithful, consistent and reliable in all that He does on our behalf.
He can be counted on to forgive our sin, Isaiah 55:6-7. He is faithful in healing our hurts and pains, restoring us to wholeness, Isa. 61:1-3. He is faithful to keep His promise of full and eternal salvation,1 Thes. 5:23-24. He is faithful to give us the grace and strength to endure the temptations we are certain to face in our walk with Him. 1 Cor. 10:13.

God’s faithfulness is highlighted in a world of unfaithfulness. Though we be unfaithful to Him for a day or a season He never forgets, rejects, leaves or fails to take receive us when we return to Him.

Zion priorities worship because it gives us the opportunity to declare, praise, shout, extol and thank our Covenant Lord for His active work within His creation.

We worship our Lord because He loves righteousness and justice. It may be more clear to say that the Lord loves the consistent, willing practice of righteousness and justice.
Righteousness refers to right behavior according to a rule. Now the rule that God uses is His own law. He therefore loves to do and to see others do what is right according to His standard. He loves when His creation acknowledges His person and acts in loyal obedient ways toward Him. He loves when He is accepted as He's revealed Himself in Scripture. He loves when His Name is revered and used properly. He loves when His creation recognizes that He's set aside a day for Himself so that we might worship Him. He loves when parents and others in authority are given proper honor and respect. He loves when life is valued and people look to advance the holistic well being of others. He loves when physical intimacy is enjoyed within the bounds of a joyful, healthy marriage. He loves when people can work for their income, earning a living wage for their toil. He loves when people use speech to build up and encourage others. He loves when people are content with what they have and thus focus their hearts on seeking Him and not things.

The term here refers to social justice as it pertains to the protection of the poor and powerless. It is used this way in Exodus 23:6 "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits, 1 Chron. 18:14 So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and righteousness for all his people and Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

Our passage declares that God loves justice. He not only condones, and approves of it, but He actually loves it. He has a strong desire and special attachment to the concept and practice of justice. It is not an afterthought of His, nor is it tangential to His character, nature and work. We praise the Lord because He will work through His people on the behalf of the poor, powerless and minorities for justice in the Name of Jesus Christ.
God's love of justice reminds us that He is passionately concerned with the temporal lives of all especially the poor, powerless and marginalized. It shows therefore that He's concerned about His people.

Lastly, we prioritize praise because the earth is full of His steadfast love. God's love is defined as a settled determined will to act in the highest and best interest of the objects of His love coupled with a strong affectionate tender-hearted feeling toward them. Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of that love. For in Jesus we have one is both the full expression of the Father's righteous, justice and love. Jesus lived the righteousness God requires for the privilege of knowing and worshiping Him. He also satisfied God's right of justice by paying the cost of our sin on the cross. Moreover, Christ Himself became poor, powerless, marginalized and oppressed voluntarily so that we who were to poor and powerless to secure our salvation could be given our salvation as a free gift of God's grace. Consequently, we the citizens of Zion prioritize praise along with the rest of the saints and billions of living creatures who set their lives to sing the praises of our living lamb.

To Him Who Loves Us...Pastor Lance