Psalm 138:1 "I will give Thee thanks with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praises unto Thee."

Psalm 19:1-3 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language; their voice is not heard."

Psalm 145:1,3 "I will extol thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name for ever and ever ... Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable."

Psalm 148 "Praise ye Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens: praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all his angels: praise ye Him, all His host. Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of Jehovah; for He commanded, and they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass away. Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye sea-monsters, and all deeps. Fire and hail, snow and vapor; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars; beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying birds; kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth; both young men and virgins; old men and children: Let them praise the name of Jehovah; for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and the heavens. And he hath lifted up the horn of His people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto Him. Praise ye Jehovah."

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that hath breath praise Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah."

In such magnificent expressions as these, the Psalmist praised his Creator with beautiful language that lifts our spirits and inspires us to echo his words as we seek to praise the God of heaven and give thanks for the great things He has done. Many of the songs we sing are based on the words of these passages.

From the New Testament writers, we learn that praising God is to be a part of our lives as Christians.

The apostle Peter said, "But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for (God's) own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies (praises KJV) of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever." (1 Peter 4:11 KJV)

The Hebrew writer said, "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15 KJV)

Luke said that the first Christians praised God daily, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people." (Acts 2:46-47 KJV)

Praise and thanksgiving must be a part of our service to God.

The apostle Paul wrote, "As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, (so) walk in Him, rooted and builded up in Him, and established in your faith, even as ye were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6,7)

Such devotion ultimately finds expression in the praise of Deity by means of tongue and lip sacrifice. When God's children, redeemed by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God, employ the high and holy priesthood of heaven's greatest gift to earth, they do so from true hearts when they "offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to His name." (Hebrews 13:15) This sentiment, springing up within the believer's heart, causes him to exclaim with the Psalmist, "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name." (Ps 103:1 KJV)

One cannot seriously reflect on the Bible without becoming aware that praising God plays a prominent role in both the Old and New Testaments. Both abound with man's recognition of God's worthiness. Such English expressions as praise, give thanks, thanksgiving, sing praise, shout with joy, glorify, honor, and hallelujah are expressions of tribute to Jehovah from both men and angels. In the book of Psalm alone, the word Praise occurs 168 times.

In the book of Revelation, we find many such expressions from both men and heavenly hosts. Consider these:

"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within; and they rest not day or night, saying Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." (Revelation 4:8 KJV)

Again, "The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 'Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.'" (Revelation 4:10-11 KJV)

Yet again, "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, 'Amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.'" (Revelation 7:11-12 KJV)

Two of the Greek nouns translated into our word praise also occur in verb form and are translated "sang praises unto God" (Acts 16:25 KJV), and "will I sing praise unto thee" (Hebrews 2:12 KJV).

In praising God and giving thanks with the whole heart, there is an understood reverence for the eternal, self-existing God Who has manifested His creative power over the physical universe, made known His spiritual character in His spoken and written word, and demonstrated His interest in and love for sinful mankind in His oral and written communication through the person, teachings, and works of His Son, Jesus Christ. Praising God involves my personal recognition of what He has done for mankind's benefit. Failure to recognize this was the besetting sin that led the Gentiles to idolatry. "For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, (even) His everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." (Romans 1:20-23) Let us be thankful!