Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

praise."man?"name."name."ciples."Lesson Helps for the Week of November 20, 1955C. Y. P. U. TOPICfor November 20, 1955"O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD"(A Praise Meeting1)by Rev. D. Howard ElliottScripture: Psalm 136 and 145Psalms : The topical index of the Psaltergives a great number and a variety ofpraise Psalms. You may want to giveover most of the meeting to the singingof these Psalms. The Book ofPsalms is of course the book of praisein the Bible and for all time.Praise is a common subject to Christians. The world knows about praisealso, but in a different sense. The worldloves to be the object of praise as doesevery selfish heart. But the Christianlooks on the matter of praise as something to be given to God and not to besought after for one's personal glory.We may honor one another and saygood things of other people, but complete praise is due only unto the Lord.Praise is ordinarily granted unto onewho has been responsible for someworthy accomplishments; and who hasdone more that is good than the Lord?Praiseways of doing it.what is it, why do it, andWhat is praise? Praise is the bestowal of approval and honor upon another. When God is praised it amountsto worship and glorification, Psalm 50:23. People may receive some praise, butonly God is worthy of worship and ofbeing glorified.Why do we praise God? This is thechief purpose of mankind. To praise andto glorify mean very"What is the chief end ofmuch the same."Man's chief end is to glorify Godand to enjoy Him forever." The Lordsays in Isaiah 43:21, "This peoplehave I formed for myself; they shallshew forth myWe praise because it is a duty commanded by theLord. Rom. 13:7: "Render therefore toall their dues: tribute to whom tributeis due; custom to whom custom; fear towhom fear; honour to whom honour."Also read Psalm 150:1-6 which commands praise of the Lord. And surely wepraise the Lord not just because it iscommanded, but because we see, appreciate and are awed by His most wonderful works toward us and the world atlarge. Meditate for a few moments onwhat the Lord has done for you and theworld in general.Your heart cannothelp but be lifted up and your expres-November 2, 1955sions of thanks and praise pour forth.What are some ways of praising God?This is Thanksgiving week and the136th Psalm expresses one of the firstnormal reactions of men to the callto praise God. "O give thanks unto theLord."Thanksgiving and praise go handin hand. If one is truly thankful, he willalso praise the Lord. The following references show the relationship of thanksgiving and praise: Psalm 69:30; 95:1, 2;100:4; 105:1-3.In praising God we are likely to thinkimmediately of singing unto Him withthe Psalms. Psalm 47:6, 7 says, "Singpraises to God, sing praises : sing praisesunto our King, sing praises. For God isthe King of all the earth : sing ye praiseswith understanding."Therefore if thesinging is to be real praise, it must bedone with an understanding of the wordsused. It is possible that some of oursinging may be done for the sake of thetune and of making harmony. Such isnot true praise. Again the Psalmist says,66:1, 2, 4, "Make a joyful noise untoGod all ye lands: sing forth the honourof his name: make his praise glorious.All the earth shall worship thee, andshall sing unto thee; they shall sing tothyHere is a listing of Psalms that singof God's praise : for His goodness to IsraelPsalms 46, 48, 65, 66, 68, 76, 81,85, 98, 105, 124, 126, 129, 135, 136; forHis goodness to righteous men Psalms23, 24, 36, 91, 100, 103, 107, 117, 121;for His goodness to individuals Psalms9, 18, 22, 30, 40, 75, 103, 108, 116, 118,138, 144; for His attributes Psalms 8,19, 22, 24, 29, 33, 47, 50, 65, 66, 76, 77,92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 104, 111, 113,114, 115, 134, 139, 147, 148, 150.God is to be praised with our speechas well as with singing. Ps. 35 :28, "Mytongue shall speak of thy righteousnessand of thy praise all the day long." Wecall this witnessing and giving of testimony unto others. Heb. 13:15 says, "Byhim therefore let us offer the sacrificeof praise to God continually, that is,the fruit of our lips giving thanks to hisGod is praised by our act of worshipwhether it be rendered in private devotions, in family worship or in the church.Of course the worship must not be inoutward form only, but must come fromthe heart, and when that happens, theoutward forms will not be neglected.Luke 24:52, 53, "And they worshipedhim, and returned to Jerusalem withgreat joy: and were continually in thewhichtemple, praising and blessing God."God is praised by our good worksmay also cause others to praiseGod. Matt. 5:16, "Let your light so shinebefore men that they maysee your goodworks and glorify your Father which isin heaven." Read also in this connectionMatthew 25:37-40. And in close association with the subject of good works isthe subject of fruit bearing which is alsoa means of praising God. John 15:8:"Herein is my Father glorified, that yebear much fruit; so shall ye be my disThe ways of praising God are numerous, of course, but every Christianought to look carefullyenough at thesubject to be certain that he is praisingGod in some ways; and the more ways,the better.JUNIOR TOPICNovember 20, 1955"GOD GIES VICTORY"Marjorie MitchelGlenwood, MinnesotaScripture Text Judges 7:9-25Memory VerseJudges 7:14 "This isnothing else save the sword of Gideonthe son of Joash, a man of Israel : forinto his hand hath God deliveredMidian,and all thehost."(Even the enemy realized that the power of God was working in a man of Hischoosing.)PsalmsMemory Psalm for November Psalm118, p. 284, vs. 10-12, 17, 18, 20.Recite all verses memorized of thisPsalm at this meeting.Psalm 106, page 260, vs. 1-4Psalm 136, page 334, vs. 1-4, 12, 13Psalm 45, page 116, vs. 1-4Psalm 148, page 357, vs. 1, 4, 5References Prov. 21:21; 22:4; Ps. 73:23-26; 55:22; 20:5, 6; Job 5:17; Isaiah50:7; 61:10, 11; 65:24; 64:4CommentsThe Lord had kept the army of theIsraelites small, just 300 men, to helpthem remember to give the Lord creditfor any victory. As you remember, thearmy of the Midianites was still 120,000men. When something goes real wellthat you have done, don't you feel verygood and a little bit proud? The Lordwas afraid they would be so proud thatthey would forget the Lord Himself,so He took away many men so the armywould be convinced that they could notwin alone.God came to Gideon at night tellinghim that now is the time to go down inthe valley against the Midianites, for Hewould give them victory. If Gideon was297