Study 20 "Praise to Yahweh" Part 1

Psalm 9.1-2

David addressed this psalm to the worship leader "on Muth Laben." The meaning of "Muth Laben" is not known, although one scholar has suggested the term means "female voices." So, this hymn could have bee written for a women’s choir. Such a conclusion is entirely speculative, and should not be wholeheartedly adopted.

Nevertheless, this hymn was written for worship, not as a poem for contemplation. The nature of the worship as described by the psalm can be discerned in the five verbs used in the first two lines: to praise, to call out, to be joyful, to exult, and to sing.

Fundamentally, the character of worship as portrayed in Scripture almost always is joyful and enthusiastic. Contemplative, quiet worship is not a style presented often, if at all, in the Bible. Meditation on and intimacy with God are generally reserved for prayer; praise is typically lively and active.

The reason for worship having such an extroverted nature is tied to the object: the Most High God. David declared, "I will praise Yahweh with all my heart." The word praise is a term with the basic meaning of "to throw." What did the twenty-four elders do, as pictured in Revelation 4.10? They "threw" their crowns before the One Seated on the Throne. They praised him. That kind of activity is not what I would call passive worship.

Secondly, David spoke of "enumerating your extraordinary deeds." Again, we find a New Testament parallel in Revelation. In both chapters 4 and 5, the twenty-four elders declare the great works of both God and the Lamb. God had created and sustains all things (Rev. 4.11). The Lamb had "been slain . . . and made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God" (Rev. 5.9-10). Thus, both God on the Throne and the Lamb before the Throne are worthy to receive "blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev. 5.13). One can sense in the text of Revelation, in all the descriptions of worship found in that book, the vibrancy and enthusiasm as God’s great deeds are proclaimed and he is worshiped.

Third, David wrote that he would be joyful and glad "in You." The Westminster Shorter Catechism poses the question "What is the chief end of man." The answer given is, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever." To glorify God is to direct attention to him. To talk about him is to glorify him. Now,if one focuses only upon the Lord’s deeds, he will fail to see the true person of God. In other words, if we are interested only in what God can do for us, he is nothing more than an idol. But, if God’s deeds are understood as the lense through which to see his real character, then we can see the Most High God. We must do more than talk about what God has done; we must praise him for who he is, which is the basis for his great acts. To rejoice and be glad in only what God has done is selfish; we are interested in ourselves. To rejoice and be glad in him is to worship in spirit and in truth.

Lastly, David stated, "I will sing to Your Name, O Most High One." Here again, we can see, as in Psalm 8, that "name" is much more than a mere tag used for identification. Thus, to sing to the Lord’s name is to sing to God as he is known. In fact, the content of the songs we sing in our worship should consist of the praiseworthy character traits of God Scripture reveals. "Worthy of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of honor and glory." "Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty." "Immortal, invisible, God only wise, . . . Great Father of glory, pure Father of light." "Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love."

Worship surely can and should contain songs about what God has done. Yet, to not sing to "His Name" is to miss the greatest joy of all: praising him for who he is, and, thus, to enjoy him forever.