Scripture speaks of praise as a matter of fact, that creation longs to praise its Creator. The heavens praise, the earth praises, the mountains bow down and the seas roar, all creation groans in praise to the Lord. This is the preferred and right state of being for all of creation: praise. But what does that mean, for planets, and oceans, and mountains to praise?
Isaiah exhorts all the mountains, the earth, and the heavens to sing praise to the Lord (Isa. 44:23). Obviously figurative language, Isaiah means to express that everything, all of creation, should sing praise to the Lord for who He is and to glorify His holiness. Creation praises the Lord in the most simple and true way: by doing and behaving as God has created them. The mountains cannot look to their maker and say: "I don't feel like being a mountain today. I think You've created me to be a tree." The ridiculous of this thought is only eclipsed by the audacity of humanity to do the same.
Unfortunately and too-often, humans point the finger at the Lord and cry out: "I am not Yours! You don't own me and You can't control my life! Leave me alone and for that matter I don't even believe You exist! I'll make myself!" Think of the presumption of humans who would swear such things to an all-good, Sovereign, and omnipotent Lord.
This is what praise is all about: recognizing who the Lord is in His holiness and majesty, and in reverence submitting to His Lordship and authority in our lives. Praise is a much larger concept than music. Music is a tool, a medium for the transmission of praise. Music in and of itself is not praise unless it is paired with the necessary posture of praise, which is humility.
Living in a posture of praise is the root of the issue. If we do not set our hearts on humility and our minds on His majesty, our praise will be contrived or inauthentic. The important thing in regards to praise is the object, not the method. The method of praise reflects the object. God is the object of praise. Therefore, praise necessitates honest humility and a trembling fear at the awesomeness of the Holy Lord.
All of creation belongs to God and was created to praise. Only humans have been given the freedom to choose whether they will praise the Lord or not. In this, God has designed us for love, because true love requires the ability to decide. No two people praise exactly the same; however, all praise is based on the same posture of reverence and humility in the face of the magnificence of God. When we offer our sincere praise to the Lord, we are being the people that God has created us to be and doing what He has created us to do. Let us then take a posture of praise and sing "Hallelujah! to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!"
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