Praise is Due You, O God

You and I were created to bring glory and praise to God.  And yet we live in a world that teaches us to seek our own glory and pursue praise for ourselves. We want our family and friends to recognize our good qualities and praise us for our successes. We like it when others speak well of us, thank us, and even reward us when we do well.  Think with me how we’ve been programmed to receive and even give praise. When you were in elementary school, you hoped you did well enough on your paper to get a gold star.  In Junior High and/or High School, if you helped your team win, you got slaps on the back, atta boys, and high fives! During your career, it was a given that you’d do whatever it took to help your company prosper.  And if you succeeded, you got a promotion and a raise.  When you bought your first home, your parents applauded you.  All our lives, we’ve grown accustomed to receiving praise for our accomplishments.  And now, as our children and grandchildren succeed, we’re the first to give them praise. Give praise comes pretty natural to us.

But the question I want to ask us this morning is this: How are you doing when it comes to giving praise to God?  Sure, we praise God during Sunday morning worship.  We praise God when we get a clean bill of health.  We give Him praise when He answers our prayers.  But when I listen to everyday conversations, it’s rare to hear people giving praise to God, especially from those of us who were created to bring Him praise.  And I’m not altogether sure why that is.

It may be because it feels weird to give God praise in public.  Or may its because we don’t hear others praise Him, so we’ve learned that praise is something we’re to keep to ourselves.  Or maybe it’s because we’re so wrapped up in seeking our own praise, that praising God is just not part of our daily conversations.  Now, I’m not saying that any of this is true about you. But what I do know is this:  If we are created to bring glory and praise to God, then praise to God must come as natural to us as it does for us when we praise our children or grandchildren – or when we praise the heroics of our favorite team, or when we’ve witnessed someone do something praiseworthy.

All I know is this: If we are God’s chosen people, His special possession called to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light – then we ought to be a people who give God the praise due His name, not just on Sundays, but on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and in coffee shops, on the golf course, in the woodshop, on the pickle ball courts, with whoever and wherever we find ourselves – as God’s people it should be commonplace for us to give God the praise due His name.

So, this morning, let me encourage you to open God’s Word to Psalm 65, where we find David giving God His due through praise.  And as he praises Him, he will remind us why God is so worthy of our praise.  So, if you’ve found Psalm 65, let us begin with verse one, where David calls us to praise.  David announces: Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. Psalm 65:1

David begins by saying that Zion is the place where praise is due to God.  David is speaking to Jews who have come to Jerusalem to fulfill their vows and present their offerings to God in worship. In fact, these vows were expressions of thanksgiving to God, giving God praise for what He had done for them.  It is from here, now, that David launches into the first of many reasons why giving praise to God should come quite naturally for us.  Here’s the first reason:

Praise is due You, for You hear our prayers (Psalm 65:2a) “O you who hear prayer” David praises God because God listens to us. The Creator of the Universe, who made the stars, who filled the infinite void of darkness with light, who rules in Sovereign Majesty and Might, is attentive to the cries of your heart.  He hears you when you pray.

That makes Him praiseworthy. Those who are great rarely have time for the little guy.  But not your God.  Your concerns are important to Him.  Your hopes and dreams matter to Him.  Every detail in your life carries weight with Him. He gave His One and only Son to die for you, so He could bring you to Him – so He could give you a relationship with Him, whereby you have access into His presence whenever you want, and whenever you need Him, so that you can cast your cares on Him. He listens to your prayers.

Our Almighty God, who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and unspeakably holy is attentive to your voice.  What a blessing!  God has made a way for you to come close to Him – through prayer. Martin Luther once said, “Prayer is climbing up into the heart of God.” So, when you pray, your God is ready and willing to move mountains for you.

Knowing that God hears me makes me want to come to Him in prayer.  And it makes me want to give Him praise. “Praise is due You, O God, for You hear our prayers.”  That’s the first reason to praise Him.  Because He’s attentive to your voice.  He hears your prayers.  Here’s the second reason:

Praise is due You, for to You all flesh shall come (Psalm 65:2b) 
                                 “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh shall come.” This is an amazing truth: “to You all flesh shall come.” David understood God’s desire for redemption for all people. David knew that God created every single person to know and be known by God. This is who David worshiped: The God of the nations. This is our God.  This is The Lord who is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 This is Father of the fatherless and protector of widows. Psalm 68:5 This is the God who so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

This is the God of infinite grace and abundant mercy who does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  This is the God who desires that everyone come under His loving rule. I don’t’ know about you, but this declaration of David gives me hope.  Praise is due You, O God for to You all flesh shall come! He loves the whole world.

Praise is due You, for You cover our sins (Psalm 65:3)
 “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.”   Here we see that David knows the good news.  He knows his sin offends God. He knows his sin causes God to hide His face from him. But he is also keenly aware that if God doesn’t do something to cover his sin, he has no hope. So here, he declares the good news: there is One who will cover your sin: “You atone for our transgressions.”

And David knew that it was not the high priest who made atonement.  Only God could do this.  Only God can make atonement.  Only God can cover your sin and mine.  He did this by the shedding of blood. He did it then on the day of atonement with the sacrificial blood of lambs.  But then He did it later – on the cross, by giving Jesus, the Lamb of God, who shed His blood – not just to cover your sin, but to take away your sin and guilt once and for all, by nailing it to the cross.  So that now, if you trust in the work of Jesus for you on that cross – now, when God looks at you, He sees no sin.  For you are covered by the blood of the Lamb.  And for what God did for you, for me, for the world – praise is due His name forever.  Praise is due our God, for You cover our sins with the blood of Jesus!

But giving Him praise doesn’t stop there.  Praise is due you, O God, for you cover our sins. But now, Praise is due You, for You change our destiny  “Blessed is the one You choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple!”  God doesn’t just forgive us, He includes us. Once, you were a stranger to God, now God’s made you an intimate friend.  Once, you were lost in this world, now God has given you a home with Him. Once, you lived with an emptiness inside, now God has filled your heart.  And the amazing thing about all this, is that you didn’t choose any of this for yourself. God chose you to have all this.

God chose you – to forgive you, include you, accept you and fill you with a life you’ve always longed for but never thought possible. God has blessed you with His grace. Now, you no longer have to live with guilt. Now, you no longer have to prove yourself.  You no longer have to go through life alone. God chose you, not just to make your life better, but to give you a whole new life with Him.  And for that, praise is due His name!

When was the last time you told someone how God has blessed you with His grace? When was the last time you were so full of confidence knowing that God chose you to be with Him?  When was the last time you praised God for changing your destiny?  Praise is due You, O God, for you didn’t just change my destiny, you changed my life!

Now, we begin to see how God changes our lives: Praise is due You, for You make things right (Psalm 65:5a) David now writes: By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness The truth he reveals here is this: God is always working to make things right.  He began by making things right with us, by reconciling us our relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus. And now that we’ve been reconciled, God hears our prayers. And God answers us with His righteousness. He works to make relationships right.  He works to rescue the perishing. He works to help the needy.  He works to heal the brokenhearted. And He is always working on your behalf.  He’s always working to deliver you from adversity, from our enemies, from famine. He’s always working to transform you, change you, and make you more like Jesus. That’s why there’s so much hope for you.  He loves us too much to leave us as we were. “By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness” So praise is due Him, for He doesn’t just make things right. He is making us right!

Are you starting to see why we’re called to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness?  Are you starting to feel why praise is due to our God?  He’s given us so many reasons to praise Him.  Here now is another one:

Praise is due You, for You give hope to all (Psalm 65:5b) “O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas” He is the God of our salvation.  But He is more than that. He is also the hope of all mankind!  He has given you the hope of salvation, and this hope is found in Jesus. But it is Jesus who called us to bring this hope to the ends of the earth when He said: “But you will receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Our God is the source of salvation and our world needs this hope, our world is desperate for this hope.  That’s why we’ve been praying for hope in places like Santo Domingo, where 80,000 students need a gospel witness. Or for thousands of students in Japan who have no hope.  Or for places like Guinea that are 99% Muslim and who need those who will bring them the hope of the Gospel.  Our world needs the hope of salvation.

When you begin to think about so many people groups who still have not heard the good news, but we have it, it gives you a new perspective on what God has done for you. God gave you the hope of salvation, not just to hold onto, but to share.  So, as long as there are people and places without a gospel presence, then we must do our part to bring hope to the nations.  And one way we can always do that is by giving God the praise due His name for giving us hope in Jesus. So let us be a people who give God His due: Praise is due You, for You give hope to the ends of the earth. This is our God. He is worthy of praise.

Let’s look now at another reason to give Him praise.  Verse 6. Praise is due You, for You are the mighty Creator (Psalm 65:6) David continues by saying this of God, You are the One who by His strength established the mountains, being girded with might; As we learned from Psalm 46, mountains were considered the strongest and most secure emblems of God’s creation. So, when we look at the mountains, we’re reminded of God’s creative might.  What He establishes is strong and unmovable.

Think about the things our Creator God establishes:  One of the things He established is the Church.  It is His creation and He included you in the church when you believed.  And according to Jesus, not even the gates of hell can prevail against what God has established. Not only that, but He has established your salvation. Nothing can destroy what God has created in your salvation.  Nothing can separate you from His love.

And finally, The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19 Right now, it may appear that the kingdom of man is having its way.  But God’s Kingdom is firmly established.  It cannot be moved.  And there is coming a day, when God will rule over all.  So let us give God praise. For whatever He creates cannot be shattered, destroyed or moved.  Praise is due you, O God, for You are the mighty Creator.  And along with this reason for giving Him praise is this:

Praise is due You, for You silence the chaos (Psalm 65:7)  It is our God who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, The roaring of the seas is a metaphor for chaotic or life-threatening powers.  This reminds us of what another psalmist wrote in Psalm 46! In a world full of chaos, war, unruly powers – God commands us to “Be still and know that I am God.” This is not a command to simply be still.  It’s a call for God’s people to stop their worrying and fretting; to stop being afraid. To stop and know who our God really is! He is the God who reigns. He is the God who fights for you.  It is He who stills the tumult of the peoples.  They have no power over God.  God has power over them.

So, the next time you feel like the world is coming unglued – stop and praise God, for He silences the roaring seas. He stops the chaos. His Kingdom is coming.  And He will be exalted among the nations.  So, praise Him for who He is and what He does.  And see how quickly He fills you with His peace.  For He silences the chaos.

And finally, Praise is due You, for You fill the earth with wonders (Psalm 65:8-13) I love this last call to praise because the focus is on the abundant grace of God throughout the earth. Just listen to David’s praise: The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.  Psalm 65:8-9

You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.  You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. Psalm 65:10-13

David praises God because everywhere he looks, he sees the evidence of God’s abundant grace to provide our daily bread: “the river of God is full of water” “You water its furrows abundantly” “You crown the year with your bounty” God’s blessing of grain is weighty: “Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance” Even the pastures of the wilderness overflow! The valleys are decked out with grain.  And what is their response?  All creation celebrates and sings together with joy!  God supplies the rain. God supplies the harvest.  God clothes the hills.  God does it all.  He blesses the earth to give us whatever we need. And He blesses the earth abundantly. So, let us join the party and give Him the praise due His name!

Praise is due You, o God, for You hear our prayers

Praise is due You, o God, for to you all flesh shall come

Praise is due You, o God, for You cover our sins

Praise is due You, o God, for You change our destiny

Praise is due You, o God, for You make things right

Praise is due You, o God, for You give hope to all

Praise is due You, o God, for You are the Mighty Creator

Praise is due You, o God, for You silence the chaos

Praise is due You, o God, for You fill the earth with wonders!

We were created to bring praise to God.  so let us become the kind of people who give God His due.  Let us become a people who praise His great name every day and in every way.  Let’s pray.