Perfect Praise

Perfect Praise¹

Last week we saw that worship to God should include everything we do. Our very breathing in and out is an expression of our worship and a testimony to God's faithfulness in our lives. We also learned that praise is but one part of worship. Stated another way, while all acceptable praise is worship, not all worship is praise.

Praise is that upward focus toward God. You may not even consider some of the things you do to be worship because they flow so naturally from your heart and mind and are almost unconsciously given to God. However, you are almost sure to know when you are praising Him. That is because praise is direct and deliberate adoration. Praise is a choice.

Read 2 Chronicles 20:18-21. Notice the two references to praise in this passage. In verse 19, “Some Levites...praised the Lord.” Jehoshaphat in verse 21, “appointed men...to praise Him.” The word translated as “praise” in these verses is the Hebrew word hallal. In order for us to appreciate the people of Judah's resolve to praise their God, we need to take a closer look at this word. Is is used 99 times in the Old Testament, more than any other major word translated “praise.”

Together with Jah (which is the shortened form of God's name, Yahweh), hallal makes up the first two syllables of our most famous praise word, hallelujah, which means “Let us praise Yah.” The definition of hallal is “to praise, celebrate, glory, sing (praise), boast.” Strong's Concordance includes in the definition “to rave.” There was nothing accidental or unintentional about their actions toward the Lord that day in Jerusalem. They deliberately and boldly praised Him, no matter how mad or foolish it may have seemed.

Luke 7:36-50 describes another woman whose praise was motivated by a heart that was boiling over with devotion. She poured a very expensive gift on Jesus. Do you see how this was a deliberate act of praise? The woman outwardly expressed her love to Christ.

I. Three Requirements for Perfect Praise

In Matthew 21:14-16, as Jesus healed the blind and the lame at the Temple, the children cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” When the Pharisees became indignant, Jesus responded, “Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise'?” (NKJV).

In this passage Jesus teaches us something else about praise. He quoted Psalm 8:2 when He said, “Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants.” He added, “you have perfected praise.” What did He mean by that? Did He mean praise isn't perfect on its own? Is it not sufficient to simply throw a party and celebrate and boast about the Lord? Actually, no...We could do everything that the word praise implies and still accomplish nothing more than to send up a bunch a imperfect noise.

Amos 5:21-23 sheds light on this. Please read that passage. God calls the worship of those who don't truly seek Him “noise.” Paul summed it up like this: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or clanging symbol” (1 Corinthians 13:1, NKJV). From these passages, we are challenged to search out what God considers perfect praise. That is the only kind we can be certain God will accept from us.

After His rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 21, Jesus lays out three requirements necessary to offering up perfect and acceptable praise to God.

In verse 16, Jesus starts with the words, “Out of the mouth” (NKJV). During His sermon on the Mount, Jesus had already taught an important insight about our mouths. He said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart...For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

1. Jesus is telling us here that the first requirement for praise to be perfect is this: Perfect praise emerges from a worshipful and passionate heart.

God hated to hear the songs of Israel in Amos 5 because their praise did not spring from love for Him; their hearts were evil. They had committed “manifold transgressions and ...mighty sins” (Amos 5:12, NKJV).

Next, in Matthew 21:16, Jesus says, “of babes and nursing infants” (NKJV).

2. The second requirement of perfect praise, then, is that we approach Him as little children. This doesn't mean we should act childish. Rather, what god wants to see in us are certain childlike qualities.

For instance, little children are humble (Matthew 18:4). Children are also trusting. There is also one other childlike quality we must have, and that is total dependence.

That leads us to the third and final aspect of perfect praise. It is summed up in one all-important word: “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, You...” (NKJV). The “You” Jesus was referring to is God Himself. “You have perfected praise.”

3. We must depend on God to initiate and perfect our praise. It was God who put it in the hearts of those little ones to celebrate Jesus in the Temple. The Father was perfectly blessed by their praises because He set up the entire praise moment. There was no doubt their praise would be accepted by He who matters-our audience of One.

My Daily Praise

Write a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God. Thank Him for the privilege of praising Him. Pour from your heart words of love and adoration. Praise is a choice. Consider praising Him now for an attribute of His character, such as His love or omnipresence.

My Daily Surrender

If we want to be sure God is pleased with our praise, we must get ourselves out of the way and pray a prayer like David's: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise” (Psalm 51:15, NKJV). Ask God to show you what you need to do today to perfect your praise.

1 This material was taken from DeWayne Moore's book, Pure Praise (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2009), 29-30.