O Sing to the Lord!

Isaiah 42:10-Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. NKJV

When I woke up this morning, a song rang in my spirit. It was an oldie, “I Will Trust in the Lord.” As I prepared for work, it kept ringing in my heart until I had to play and sing with it. It was a great way to start my day, praising God for His hand in my life and reaffirming my commitment to trusting Him until I die! Our word for praise today has to deal with songs of praise!

Tehilla is the Hebrew word that literally means “a song of praise.” Isaiah said we are to sing a song of praise from one end of the earth to the other, even a new song! In other words, it doesn’t matter who we are, where we live, or our station in life; we are to sing a song of praise to the Lord! The Bible has many instances where people broke forth into songs of praise because of the beautiful works of the Lord. As God performed miracles, answered prayers, displayed His glory, and proclaimed His holiness, God’s people found themselves singing praise to His name!

In the book of Judges, we see the prophetess Deborah burst into a song of praise:

“Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

Judges 5:3 NKJV

God had defeated a mighty enemy for them. Barak had been afraid to venture into war at Deborah’s prophetic word. But he agreed to go if she would go with him. She went with Barak informing him that Sisera, the captain of their enemy’s army, would be delivered into the hands of a woman. God came through as she spoke, and they just had to take some time to sing a song of praise. Victory over your enemies will cause a song to rise from your lips to the Great Deliverer! The psalmist wrote:

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

Psalm 98:1 NKJV

The word tehillah has been translated in several verses to the word praise. Let’s look at a few of these verses:

But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22:3 NKJV

As we lift our voices in tehillah, God is enthroned or inhabits our praise. He comes right into the midst of our praise as we sing songs to Him! Is anyone looking for a way to bring God into their circumstances? Begin singing during your struggles and God will inhabit, occupy, and step into those circumstances. David wrote,

Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; and to You the vow shall be performed.
O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.

Psalm 65:1-2 NKJV

Songs of praise, tehillah praise, are waiting for the God who answers prayers. David made a vow to sing those songs of praise of Him! We can also vow to tehillah or sing songs of praise to our God! That’s what I had to do this morning! True, it was already in my heart, but I wasn’t satisfied until I repeatedly sang that I would trust in the Lord until I died!

It’s not enough that we get to sing songs of praise to our wonderful Savior, but Moses wrote that God is our tehillah! He is our praise!

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. 

Deuteronomy 10:21-22 NKJV

Moses said that we are to fear the Lord our God and to serve Him, for He is our tehillah and our God! How does that work? Songs of praise will come into your spirit, and it will be the very presence of God Himself singing to you! At least, that’s what I envision! Jeremiah agreed with Moses’ take on God being our tehillah:

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.

Jeremiah 17:14 NKJV

I love this verse! Jeremiah had absolute confidence in the truth that whatever God did would be sufficient! If it was healing that he needed from God, then God would heal him, and he (Jeremiah) would be healed! If it was saving that he needed, God would take care of that, for God was his tehillah! Is He your tehillah? Does His very nature cause praise to erupt inside you because of who He is?

Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me;

Psalm 109:1 NKJV

When we think of a person devoted to praising God, we automatically think of David. David said that God was the God of his praise. Not another god, but God the Father. His praise wasn’t directed to a god like Baal, who was made with hands, but to the omnipotent God who came to his rescue when he called. That’s the God we sing songs of praise to!

It is God who avenges me, and subdues the peoples under me; He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name.

2 Samuel 22:48-50 NKJV

I believe you get the message! Not only can we sing songs of praise, but God becomes our song, our tehillah! So go ahead, people worldwide, from every city and every nation, sing a song to the Lord, and give Him tehillah with all of your heart! Wonderful Jesus!