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Commands to praise or be thankful:
- Sacrifices of thanksgiving were commanded for the Israelites: Levicitus 7:12-15, but He wanted it to be from their own free will (Lev 22:29)
- Deut 10:20-21: "You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen."
- Many of the psalms are trying to stir up the speaker or the crowd to praise, vowing "I will" praise (sometime in the future), or do such-and-such, that I might praise, or (these people) will praise, or saying "let me" or "let [some third party]" praise the Lord, as if asking for God's help in doing it, in addition to actually praising God:
- Psalm 9:11: "Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people."
- Psalm 29:1: "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength."
- Psalm 30:4: "Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."
- Psalm 33:2: "Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings."
- Psalm 47:1, 6-7: "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!... Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding."
- Psalm 66:1-2, 8: "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious.... Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard."
- Psalm 68:4, 32: "Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him... Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah"
- Psalm 98:4: "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises."
- Psalm 100:4: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
- Psalm 117:1: "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!"
- Romans 15:11: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”
- 2 Cor 2:14: "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."
- 2 Cor 4:15: "For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God."
- We should bring praise to God (when people see us): Eph 1:11-12: "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory."
- The Holy Spirit in us is to the praise of His glory: Eph 1:13-14
- When we bear fruits of righteousness, it is to God's glory and praise: Phil 1:11
- Our faith brings praise to God: 1 Peter 1:7
- Eph 5:20: "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- Col 3:15: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."
- Col 4:2: "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving"
- 1 Thess 5:18: "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
- 1 Tim 2:1: "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,"
- 1 Tim 4:4: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;"
- Heb 13:15: "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
- 1 Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
- Rev 7:12: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
- Rev 19:5: "Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
Effects of thanksgiving:
- It was a battle strategy a at least once, when Jehoshaphat sent out the worshippers in the front lines of battle: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30
- It led to a prison break at least once, when Paul and Silas were singing to God, triggering an earthquake: Acts 16:25-34
- It leads to peace: Phil 4:6-7: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
- It's how we abound in faith: Col 2:6-7: "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."
Examples of thankfulness:
- Moses' song after God parts the Red Sea: Exodus 15:1-18, and Miriam's, Ex 15:21 - to memorialize it. It's like a poetic retelling of what just happened.
- Deborah's song after their defeat of Sisera: Judges 5:1-31
- Hannah's song after she bears Samuel: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
- David's psalm when God makes a covenant with his line: 2 Sam 7:18-29
- David appointed singers to rejoice as the ark returned from the Philistines, and he was dancing himself with all his might (2 Sam 6:12-23 and 1 Chron 15:16-29).
- David after his mighty men killed the last of the Philistine giants: 2 Sam 22:1-51 (also Psalm 18).
- David set aside a company of men appointed just for worship: 1 Chronicles 25, and also made them their instruments for that purpose: 1 Chron 23:5 (and they still used them during Solomon's reign, 2 Chron 7:6), and they did it morning and evening every day: 1 Chron 23:30.
- Solomon followed suit (2 Chron 8:14).
- Later Hezekiah reinstituted temple worship according to David's pattern, even using the instruments he had made (2 Chron 29:20-36), and reinstituted Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with accompanying praise (2 Chron 30:21).
- David's psalm at the end of his reign: 1 Chron 29:10-15
- The Levites rejoice when the ark is brought into the new temple: 2 Chron 5:13
- The people of Israel in response to the glory of the Lord in the new temple: 2 Chron 7:3
- Most of the psalms: 7:17, 9:1-2, 14, 18:3, 49, 21:13, 22:3, 22-26, 26:7, 27:6, 28:7, 30:4, 30:12, 33:1, 34:1, 35:18, 28, 40:3, 42:5, 11, 43:4-5, 44:8, 45:17, 50:14, 51:15, 52:9, 54:6, 56:4, 12, 57:7, 57:9, 59:17, 61:8, 63:3, 5, 69:30, 34, 71:6, 8, 14, 22, 72:15, 75:1, 9, 78:4, 79:13, 86:12, 89:5, 92:1, 95:2, 96:1, 4, 97:1, 12, 98:1, 100:1, 100:4, 101:1, 103:1, 104:1, 33, 35, 105:1, 106:1-2, 48, 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 22, 31, 108:1, 3, 109:30, 111:1, 112:1, 113:1, 3, 9, 115:18, 116:1, 17, 19, 117:12, 118:1, 19, 21, 28-29, 119:7, 62, 164, 171, 175, 135:1, 3, 21, 136:1-3, 26, 138:1-2, 139:14, 140:13, 144:9, 145:1-4, 10, 21, 146:1-2, 10, 147:1, 7, 12, 20, 148:1-5, 7, 13-14, 149:1, 3, 6, 9, 150:1-6
- Many of the major and minor prophets prophesy that Israel will rejoice when God redeems them, brings them back to the land, reveals the Messiah, in the Millennium, etc
- Jeremiah prays for deliverance: Jer 17:14 and his praise that God will deliver him from those who are against him: Jer 20:13
- Daniel praises God for revealing Nebuchadnezzar's dream: 2:23
- Nebuchadnezzar praises God: Daniel 4:34-37
- Daniel prayed and praised daily (despite opposition): Daniel 6:10
- Ezra 3:10-11: the people rejoice when the foundation of the temple is re-laid.
- Nehemiah on dedication of the rebuilt temple: he commands the people to rejoice and hold a feast, not mourn at the reading of the law they haven't kept (Nehemiah 8:10) and the Levites lead them in a psalm of praise to God and remembrance of their history: Nehemiah 9:5-38. Then Nehemiah appoints thanksgiving choirs with lots of instruments to rejoice loudly (Nehemiah 12:27-43). It's interesting that the story is long over by this point, but several more chapters are dedicated to their thanksgiving, praise, and remembrance of Israel's history and God's goodness to them.
2 months ago
#bible, #biblical, #praise, #spiritual, #study, #thanksgiving
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