Second Sunday of Easter: Everything with Breath, Praise the LORD!

Second Sunday of Easter:
Everything with Breath, Praise the LORD!
15 April 2007

Scripture reading: John 20:19-31: 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Sermon text: Psalm 150:1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Introduction

Here’s the question of the day: What has God done for you today?

We celebrated Easter last week: The reality of Jesus’ resurrection and His victory over sin and death. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that God cares about us and works in amazing ways to provide for His Creation.

The Jews long celebrated God’s work in their history by singing the Psalms. The Psalms ends with a series of praise hymns that culminate with Psalm 150: “Praise the LORD!” When the Jews remembered everything God had done on their behalf, they responded by praising the LORD. Today, in the Easter season and on the day we weekly celebrate the Resurrection, we should praise the LORD for everything He has done in our lives and for the salvation Jesus brought to us in our sin.

Sermon

The primary word in this psalm forms the basis of one of our greatest praise terms: “Hallelujah,” or “praise the LORD.” This word is an imperative; we are commanded to praise the LORD. Why should we praise God? Why should the Psalmist command us to praise God?

First, we need to consider the word “Hallelujah.” This term is sometimes translated as “thanks,” but “praise” is far better. As Allen Ross writes,

You should read carefully Claus Westermann’s discussion of the idea of praise in which he distinguishes modern gratitude and biblical praise. He notes that the simplified idea of “thanks” as we have it in English is not actually in Hebrew?]?]in fact, it is not a primary meaning in many other major languages either. Westermann suggests that the concept of “thanks” (as we use it) is not a natural one, that “praise” is more spontaneous and genuine. This distinctive nature of praise that he develops is that praise makes the object praised the subject of the sentence, whereas in thanks the speaker is the subject (so praise involves looking away from oneself); praise is a lavish description of that which is spontaneously enjoyed, whereas thanks can be a fixed duty (so praise involves a genuine appreciation); and praise is expressed in a forum, whereas thanks can be private or silent (so praise is encouraging and edifying to others). (“Prayer and Praise in the Psalms,” http://www.christianleadershipcenter.org/504/504prayer.htm)

Therefore, our praise to God should involve a genuine outpouring to Him for everything He has done to us. We are commanded to praise God because of His work in our lives.

Praise naturally involves telling someone else about the person we’re praising. When we thank someone for something, only the person we’re thanking knows what he’s done for us. When we praise someone, we’re telling someone else what we’ve experienced because of someone else. When we gather each week, we sing songs to God that tell others we’ve received His blessings throughout the week and that we are truly thankful for what He has done for us.

Many people misunderstand the command to praise God. Why should God command us to praise Him? Doesn’t this seem rather presumptuous?

Do you remember your first love? You couldn’t wait to tell everyone about the great qualities of the person. You knew who your real friends were because they listened ad nauseum to all the great things about your true love (and were wise enough not to mention the bad habits of the person in question). It’s natural for us to want to praise the people we love. Imagine, then, how much we should praise God for everything He does.

In the Jews’ case, the Psalmist says they should praise the LORD for His “mighty deeds.” God had chosen them for His special people. Of all the nations on the earth, God chose a people not known for intellectual greatness or political success; He chose a small family and worked through them to reveal His nature to the world.

God delivered them from slavery in Egypt and gave them a land they didn’t deserve. He drove out stronger peoples and gave His people a cities already built and crops already sown. God gave His people a law to guide them and sent leaders to guide them in times of crisis.

Every time the Jews gathered in the Temple, they remembered this history as they lifted Psalm 150 at the tops of their voices. The Jews remembered both the past acts of God and anticipated His future acts on their behalf.

This still holds true for us. Remember God’s “mighty deeds” in your life. Look back in your life and remember everything God has done for you. Remember the physical deliverance He has given to protect you. Remember the times He has protected you from removing you from situations before a crisis developed. Remember the times He has brought people into your life to help you through difficult situations.

Secondly, we need to consider how we should praise God. The Psalmist makes this very clear: We praise God with everything we have! Hebrew worship would have frightened some of us, especially those of us who prefer structured or “formal” worship. Hebrew worship was extremely loud, as the Psalm reminds us. Every Hebrew musician played with everything he had. Trumpets, cymbals, drums, and stringed instruments all competed for attention as the musicians played with all the gusto he could muster.

What about us? If someone stood beside you and listened to your singing today, would that person know that God did something for you this week? We should praise God with everything in us when we remember everything He does for us every day.

In Hebrew worship, “If people were not praising God, it simply meant that they were not enjoying His benefits, or that they were ingrates and taking credit for what they received, or crediting some false source (god) with the gracious provision (ibid.).” If you’ve enjoyed the benefits of God this week, this day, you should praise Him today and every day.

Lastly, who should praise God? The Psalmist closes the Psalter with this verse: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!” We all know that God blesses everyone alive, but not everyone praises Him for the blessings He gives. This has been the case throughout history. Most people on the planet never think to praise God, but His people should continually praise Him, through worship and by telling other people about His blessings. More people will come to the Church and hear the blessings of salvation when they hear of the blessings that come from the God whose Son, Jesus, came to die and rise again for our salvation.

Conclusion

Last week marked one of God’s greatest acts in history: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When Jesus appeared to the disciples in the events described in St. John’s Gospel, He displayed God’s power to save us from sin and from death. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God finds the peace that Jesus gave to the disciples still comes to believers today.

Have we told someone today about the blessings of salvation? Have we given God the praise due Him in this day? “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!”