I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! (Psalm 22:22-23)
Whether this psalm is to be viewed from David’s perspective, Israel as a whole or the Messiah — if not all — it is clear that the Heavenly Father always sustains His servants through their trials. In the end, He is glorified and exalted before all people when His purpose is revealed, and especially when His servants praise Him publicly for His great works. Messiah addressed this, more or less, when He prayed to the Father in the company of His disciples just before He was taken into custody to be crucified:
“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:4-5).
Even before the final trial, He was honoring the Father for the glorious outcome before those who were about to be tested themselves.
The wording in these verses suggest that the servant of God, particularly those who have been delivered from their enemy, should offer praise unto God wherever he goes. Certainly, he should praise God in the midst of those who are in his community. It shouldn’t stop there, though; our praise should be expressed among those we don’t know well and who may have only a limited knowledge of God. That is to say, we should pour out our hearts in adoration before those who may only give lip service to Him or merely serve Him out of fear.
In other words, our worship has the ability to motivate others to serve God, not just out of fear or a sense of moral duty, but with a heart of love and devotion. In a manner of speaking, our willingness to exalt our God anywhere and at all times can be contagious.
Clearly, Messiah’s suffering and His resurrection revealed the will of God to all mankind to the glory of the Father. His obedience unto death and His acknowledgement of the Father’s purpose has, through the ages, brought people together as one body from different backgrounds and ethnicities. Being so diverse, it is inevitable that we will express our praise differently at times; perhaps due to our culture but it could also be contingent on just how close we are to God. Nevertheless, when we come together to praise Him, we form a chorus of love and worship that glorifies the Father before all people, and just might cause others to desire to be part of what is going on. In a way, that was David’s point: I want to praise you and inspire others to do the same — not a bad way to approach our day.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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