Ps. 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Within these verses lie hidden secrets to the development of the kingdom of God. While our focus will be the high praises of God we will see and understand why and how to build his Kingdom though worship. Note the obvious; we are to sing praises in the congregation of saints. This means to gather ourselves together in the presence of the Lord for sole purpose of worship. It is the assembling of ourselves together to share the common interest of worshiping the Lord. It is the setting of our affection on things above where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Here is where we lose our self-awareness and become solely aware of our Father and Lord.
The assembling of ourselves together is for the purpose of exalting our Lord with our voices. Our voices are our instruments to praise the Lord. And like good instruments in an orchestra they must be tuned to the proper key. Each instrument gives a different sound but blends in harmony with all the other instruments. All the instruments are different in character and shape but they all blend together to bring forth the praises of God in the highest exaltation by a collective body of saints. Saints are to emit the joyful sound unto the Lord to make a place or throne for the Lord to rest upon through the exaltation of song and praise. As they begin to praise they seek to blend their voices together in harmony they raise the sound of their voices until only one voice is heard in the ears of the Lord. Harmonizing together the assembly reaches a peak of high praises that is like a crescendo of instruments blending an orchestrated musical etude.
Once the assembly has learned to praise in harmony the stage is set for a new song, shiyr. This is the abstract singing of one or more person in the congregation. It is not a premeditated event but one that is directed by the Holy Spirit through the intended instrument during the meeting. The singer will sing the new song while the congregation continues to blend their voice softly unto the Lord. Once the new song is brought forth the congregation resumes the high praises. The word “new” is translated for the Hebrew “chadash” meaning to rebuild, renew, and repair, in a fresh new way. Thus we have the theme of the new song.
The new song will admonish and exalt the Lord while bringing healing, forgiveness and love to the body. The new song will continue to exalt the Lord and help the congregation to continue their love and affection unto him. Eventually, there will be an expression in song by a duet of male and female exalting the Lord in the midst of the congregation. All this will lead to the most glorious expression of praise that a body of believers can collectively bring forth unto the highest God.
the voice
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The High Praises of God 2:return
