The Person of Praise, Part 2

We are right in the middle of a series called the pathway to praise, and there's no better time to praise the Lord than during the Christmas season, when our hearts are fixed on the arrival of the Messiah.

But for the believer, praise is not something that's seasonal. Praise is something that's continual. For the believer, praise is not something that's optional. Praise is that which is essential. Why? Because praise is habitual to our nature. Praise is critical to us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise is to be that which is perpetual; praise is that which is essential to our nature.

For the Bible says in Isaiah 43:21 that the people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my praise. So praise is not something that happens just once a year or during a certain period of the year. It happens all throughout our lives, because that's who we are. And as we journey along the pathway of praise, We realize that it's the person that we praise is what enriches our praise. It's that person that encourages us to praise all the more. It's that person that enhances our praise, that enables our praise, because of who He is and what He's done.

And so our focus on the pathway of praise this week and last week is the person of praise: to get to know the person of Christ is essential, and everything that involves him is absolutely critical to us as believers.

So let's begin today by looking at Psalm 34; if you got your Bible turn there with me, if you would please. Psalm, verse number, or chapter 34, verse number 1. It reads this way. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth

You see, the psalmist knew the praise wasn't optional. He knew the praise wasn't seasonal. He knew it was continual. It was perpetual. It was something that had to happen all the time. His praise will be continually in my mouth.

And then he says this, my soul will make its boast in the Lord. The humble will hear it and rejoice. But my soul is about boasting in the Lord, not myself. My soul is about bragging about the Lord, not bragging about myself The psalmist knew that, and that enabled him to praise his God even all the more.

And then when you come to verse number 3, he says oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. He cries out for others to magnify the name of the Lord. And when you magnify something, you enlarge it; you make it bigger than life. It's not that you make God any bigger than He is. You can't do that. He's all-encompassing. But the magnifying is that He becomes larger in your life in mind. He becomes a larger influence in our life. He becomes a bigger part of our lives.

So the psalmist is saying, I want you to magnify the Lord with me. I want the Lord to be big and huge in your life, that we might lift His name together, that we might exalt His name, that we may raise the name of the Lord forever, and of course the name is His character. It's His attributes. It's who he is.

In fact, the psalmist said in in Psalm 69, verse number 30, these words. I will praise the name of God with song. I will praise the character of God, the attributes of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. My life will be enlarged as I give thanks and praise to God for who He is. This is so important, but read on what the psalmist says, in verse number 4 he says I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and He delivered me from all my fears.

If you take good notes, just circle the word deliver. He delivered me from all my fears. Because he knew that the God he extolled was a deliverer. He knew that the God that was to be magnified in his life was his deliverer.

And then know what it says in verse number 5. They looked to Him and were radiant. But literally it says, those who look to him are radiant. In other words, when you boast in the Lord and when you magnify His name, when you exalt Him, there's something about your external being that radiates the glory of the Lord. It's like when you walk into a room. I hope that when you walk into a room, you light up the room. I don't want you to walk into a room and make it dark. I don't want you to walk into a room and make it gloomy. I don't want you to walk into a room and everybody says, oh look who's here. I want you to walk into a room and just light it up.

Why? Because your face is radiant with the beauty of the Lord. That's what the psalmist meant when he said these words in Psalm 147: praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. Praise is fitting. Praise is becoming. Praise changes the whole scenery for those whose lives are radiant with his glory.

And so, the psalmist knows that once you exalt His name, once you magnify the Lord with him, you'll call upon Him. He will deliver you and those who look to him Everything about their external being will radiate the beauty and the comeliness of our God.

And then it says this in verse number 6: this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. He heard him and He saved him. If you got your pen still, just circle the word saved. Because he knew his God was a deliverer. He knew his God was a Savior and then you read on. It says the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them So again, just take your pen or pencil and circle the word rescue. So, the psalmist knew that the Lord was a rescuer, a deliverer, and a Savior. Remember, he said I want you to magnify Yahweh with me and extol that name, the name of Yahweh. Elevate that name with me. Why? Because this God is a Savior, a deliverer, a rescuer of man.

This is so important. This is so crucial to understand. Notice He says the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. The angel of the Lord is a phrase that describes a Christophany: an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament before the incarnation. Very important to understand.

Last week I told you when things are mentioned first in the Bible, you should take note of that, because there's a reason for that. The very first time the phrase “the angel of the Lord” appears in the Bible, the very first time the pre-incarnate Christ appears in the Bible, listen carefully, is not to a Jew. It's to an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar, in Genesis chapter 16. That's the first time the phrase the angel of the Lord appears.

And remember, if you will, that Hagar was booted out of her house by Sarah. Remember Sarah wanted a child and she was barren, and Abraham was promised that his seed would would bless the the nations of the world, but she had no seed. She had no son. So she offered Hagar the Egyptian handmaid to her husband Abraham, because you could do that legally in those days, and the heir would continue on. The line of the name of the man would continue on, and so she offered up Hagar. Well, Hagar got pregnant. Sarah's not happy about that. Sarah's like well, oh man, you gotta go. So she goes to Abraham. Said Abraham, what should I do? Abraham being the non-leader that he was, said I don't know. You do what you want with her. Instead of stepping in and leading his wife. He let his wife take the lead. Not a good choice.

So she booted Hagar out of the house So Hagar goes on this journey. She comes to a little spring in the wilderness, and there the angel of the Lord appears and speaks to her, and says you're gonna have a son. His name is Ishmael, which means God hears. So she names him Ishmael, but at that place she names that place El Roi, which means the God who sees me. And then she named that spring Beer-lahai-roi, which means the well of the Living God who has seen me. Very important to realize this, because the angel the Lord sees everything

And so now, the psalmist picks up that phrase and says the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and what does He do? He rescues them. Like He rescued Hagar, sent Hagar back to Abraham and Sarah, and that's how Abraham knew that she really had an encounter with the Living God. Because God had told her to go back to them. Very important to realize this.

So the psalmist says, I want you to make God so big in your life that others see Him and not you. So you brag about Him and boast about Him. Not yourself. And so when they see God in you, they realize that He actually is a deliverer, a Savior, and a rescuer now. Why is that important? Because that is the meaning of His name.

Go back to me with Exodus chapter 3,and this is the third time the phrase “the angel of the Lord” is mentioned in the scriptures.

Okay ,Exodus chapter 3. Now Moses was pastoring the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and He led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked and behold the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. And God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. In fact, it says that God called to him from the midst of the bush. So, whoever the angel of the Lord is, is God. God speaks to him from the burning bush, and then He begins to describe to Moses what it is He's going to do, based on what he has heard and what he has seen. Very important.

So in verse number 7 the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and I've given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters. For I am aware of their sufferings .For I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up from the land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. That describes to us the name of God. He says, I'm coming down to deliver my people.

Remember, God comes down for one of three reasons: He comes down to destroy He comes down to discipline, or He comes down to deliver. Those are the only three times God comes down. When He came down the first time, he came down to deliver. When He comes again, He comes to destroy. But here He says, I'm coming down to deliver My people because I've seen their affliction. I've heard their cry.

Remember this is the God who sees me, El Roi. This is the God who hears Ishmael, this is the God who sees and hears. And so He says, look, I'm coming down and what I'm going to do is I'm going to demonstrate My power. I'm gonna display My provision, and I'm gonna deliver My people. And in so doing, I'm going to declare My preeminence That's what the name Yahweh means. So He goes on because Moses asked Him. He says, so who should I say sent me? He says, tell them “I am” sent you, and the phrase I am are those four Hebrew consonants that make up the name of God, Yahweh, and so He says these words to Moses. He says in verse number 20, I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it. After that he will let you go. I'm gonna demonstrate My power. And in demonstrating My power, I'm gonna deliver My people. And I'm going to display My provision.

Look what he says. He says, I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.

God says this is who I am This is what I do. I am a deliverer. I'm a rescuer. I'm a Savior. I'm a Redeemer.

So in Psalm 34, the psalmist says, I will call upon the Lord. I will call upon Him because He saves me, because He delivers me, because He rescues me. That's why he says, oh magnify the Lord Yahweh with me, and let us exalt that name of God. Which is His memorial name because that's what He says in Exodus 3:15. This is My memorial name that's to be remembered from generation to generation. So the psalmist in 34 says this is His memorial name. He's a Savior, a rescuer, a deliverer. That's who He is. That's what He does. That's the person of praise and that's what the psalmist is trying to help us understand.

This is the name that needs to be large in our lives, seen more so than ourselves, because we boast in His name, we extol His name, and so He begins to describe Himself all throughout the Old Testament. That's why the person of praise is critical as you journey along the pathway of praise. Because we saw last week where he was Yahweh Haseenu, The Lord my maker. The Lord my maker is the one who forms me. He fashions me, Psalm 95 verse number 6.

And then we saw Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Armies. So important, why? Because not only is He the one who forms me and fashions me. He's the one who fights for me, and that's why the book of Malachi concludes with 25 different references to Yahweh Sabaoth, and then everything goes silent for 400 years, until that Lord of Armies, that Lord is birthed in a manger in Bethlehem and His armies make the announcement. The glory of the Lord shone all around them, and the host of his of his armies declared glory to God in the highest, because he's still Yahweh Sabaoth.

So the Lord who forms me and fashions me is the Lord who fights for me, and the Lord who fights for me is Yahweh Rohi, the Lord my shepherd. The One who fashions me and forms me is the One who fights for me, and the One who fights for me is the One who feeds me. Because Rohi, the Lord my shepherd, is best defined as one who feeds or one who leads to a pasture.

Again, when is it mentioned first? Psalm 23 .You know the psalm very well. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want Why? Because the Lord who is a shepherd is the One who feeds me. So when I am hungry, I am fed. When I'm thirsty, I'm given something to drink. I'm satisfied.

David says as he looks back over his life, of all the sin and sorrow that David faced, of all the hurts to be faced, when Saul would search after him, David would write Psalm 23. He'd reflect back on his life and realize that the Lord was a shepherd. The Lord was guiding him, leading him, feeding him, protecting him, so that when he walked to the valley of the shadow of death, he would fear no evil, for that Shepherd was with him. To guide him, to protect him, to feed him.

So this is David's testimony as to how his life went under the direction of the great Shepherd of Israel, and of course David was a shepherd, and David knew about shepherding. And yet he realized that the Lord was his shepherd.

Now that's probably the most endearing term to describe our God. It's warm, it's tender, it explains to us the nurturing responsibility that our Lord has to feed His people. Not just feed them food physically. But to feed them spiritually, and lead them in the way that honors the name of God.

The Bible says these words in Isaiah 40, verse number 10. Behold, the Lord God will come with might with His arm ruling for Him. Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock. In his arms He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes. What a testimony as to what's gonna happen when our Lord comes again.

But if you read the book of Jeremiah, as Jeremiah prophesied right before Israel goes into Babylonian captivity, and remember Isaiah prophesied some a hundred years before that; Jeremiah prophesied right on the cusp of them going into captivity He condemns Israel's shepherds, Israel's leaders. They were called shepherds because they were to tend to the flock of God, but he condemns them. And then when you come to the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel is written during their captivity, during the Babylonian captivity, and Ezekiel has this indictment to say to the nation.

Thus says the Lord God, Ezekiel 34, verse number 2. Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flock? That's where the word Rohi means to feed, because that's how it's used most in the scriptures. And yet He indicts the religious establishment because they were feeding themselves They weren't feeding the flock. Verse 4, those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost. But with force and with severity you have dominated them.

They were scattered for lack of a shepherd They became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. My flock wandered, My flock was scattered. And He goes on and talks about My flock, and My flock this, and My flock that; you did not care for My flock. And then in verse 11, for thus says the Lord God, behold. I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for the herd in the day when He is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

And then He says in verse number 13, I will feed them. Verse number 14 I will feed them. Verse number 15, I will feed my flock. I will lead them to rest, Verse 16. I will seek the lost, verse 16. At the end I will feed them, verse 23 Then I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David, and He will feed them. He will feed them Himself and be their shepherd and I the Lord will be their God and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.

God says I'm gonna send my servant David. He's not talking about King David. King David died some 400-plus years before this. So who's he talking about? He's talking about the Messiah who's called My servant. Read the book of Isaiah. There are called the servant songs, especially Isaiah 53, which talks about the servant of the Lord. The shepherd is my servant David. He's a son of David. He says I will send my shepherd, and my shepherd will feed them. My shepherd will lead them So what does Jesus say in? In John 10 He says I am the Good Shepherd. I'm the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and they know Me.

The Shepherd speaks. They listen and they follow. Christ said I am the Good Shepherd. And so Christ declared himself as the shepherd, the servant of David, the Shepherd of Israel. He was the one who will feed us and lead us and guide us. This is so important.

Remember when the Magi came right into Jerusalem in Matthew chapter 2, they came looking for who? The king of the Jews: where is he who was born king of the Jews? And Herod the Idumean believed that he was the proper king of the Jews. Although he wasn't, he declared himself as the king of the Jews. He didn't want any rivalry coming to his life. And so he wanted to know where this king was to be born.

So he gathered the scribes together and the scribes tell him where this King will be born and what do they do? They quote Micah chapter 5 verse number 2, which says: and you Bethlehem Ephrathah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people. From you Bethlehem Ephrathah will come a ruler, will come a king and He will be the shepherd of my people. Now why is that important? Why is that statement important? It's a prophecy, right? Micah 5, verse number 2. But why is it called Bethlehem Ephrathah?

That's a good question and that's because the ancient name for Bethlehem was Ephrathah and Ephrathah means to be fruitful. Bethlehem is the house of bread, and Jesus says I am the bread of life. And so, the bread of life was born in the house of bread. But the house of bread is that which fulfills us to such an extent that we then can be fruitful. That's why it's called Bethlehem Ephrathah.

But it goes even further beyond that; because before Micah 5, verse number 2, is Micah chapter 4, verse number 8. Micah 4, verse number 8, and in Micah 4, verse number 8 is a prophecy, a prophecy about the tower of the flock. In Hebrew, it's called Migdal-Eder.

He says to you, tower of the flock, it will come. You are the daughter of Zion. You will have one come who will have dominion and rule.

Now, why is that important? Why does it say that on the south side of Bethlehem? It's called Migdal-Eder. Well for that, you got to go all the way back to the book of Genesis, the 35th chapter. When Rachel's about to give birth to her second son and she's going to die, and she's so afraid that that that she's going to die and not live, that she wants to call her son Ben-Oni Which means son of my sorrow. But Jacob intercedes and says no, he will not be called Ben-Oni, but he will call Ben-hamin, which means son of my right hand, or son of my strength. Why is that important? Because Benjamin became a type of Christ. Why? Because Rachel was buried at Migdal-Eder, Ephrathah, which is Bethlehem. Her grave is still there today.

Why is that important? Because the tower of the flock was a two-story tower. And on the top story would stand the shepherd, as he would overlook the shepherds fields, and watch over his flock and make sure they were taken care of. But underneath, on the first floor, was the birthing place for all the lambs that would be prepared for Passover in Jerusalem. So Bethlehem Ephrathah became the place of birth for all the sacrificial lambs that would be slaughtered at Passover. Why is that important? Because in the birthing experience, when the te lamb came out, it had to be quickly wrapped in swaddling clothes. Why? Because the lamb would kick and flail and maybe cut himself, or run up against something and injure himself. They then would be a blemished lamb, not an unblemished lamb. And so they would wrap the little lamb in in cloth to protect it from becoming blemished. So it would be an unblemished Lamb that would qualify for sacrifice at Passover.

Why is that important? Well, look what it says in the book of Zechariah. In Zechariah chapter 13, verse number 7, it says awake, o sword, against my shepherd. Who's that? That's the Messiah, that's the servant David; and against the man my associate. And the word associate means equal, equal in nature, equal in character, and this man is not a normal man. He is geḇer, a supernatural man. So awake, o sword, against the man, not just a normal man, but an extraordinary man who is my equal. Meaning that the shepherd is equal in nature to God himself. He says, declares the Lord of hosts, strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered. The shepherd’s gonna be slain. The shepherds gonna die. That was all prophesied.

And so Christ says in John 10, I am the Good Shepherd, and I lay down my life for the sheep. He told them that He came to die. He came to fulfill Zechariah chapter 13, verses 7 and 8. He came to die, why? Because you see, He was the lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Where was he born? Bethlehem Ephrathah. He was born in the place where all the sacrificial lambs were prepared. And when he was born, what did Mary do, she wrapped Him in what? Swaddling clothes, and she laid him in a manger, a feeding trough. Why? Because everything about the birth of the Messiah foreshadowed all that was gonna take place at Passover, when the shepherd, the lamb, would be slain.

So listen to what it says in the book of Revelation, in the fifth chapter. I'm sorry, the seventh chapter of Revelation, with these words. For the lamb is in the center of the throne and the lamb in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

John sees a vision of the glorified Son of God, sees Him as a lamb in the center of the throne, and that lamb is the Shepherd that will continue to guide God's people throughout all eternity, and that shepherd is the God who wipes away every tear from people's eyes. That's why Yahweh Rohi is so important to understand, that we could ask you to see the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Why? Because He's the One who feeds. He's the One who leads to greener pastures. He's the One who causes my soul to lie down by quiet waters. He's the One that is with me when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't fear any evil. I've got my shepherd. He's with me. The One who feeds me. The One who feeds me is the One who fights for me.

He's Yahweh Sabaoth. The One who fights for me is the One who formed me and fashioned me.

He's Yahweh Haseenu. Ah, but know this. The Lord that is the One who formed me and fashioned me. The Lord who fights for me. The Lord who feeds me, is the Lord who foresees everything. Because he's called Yahweh Yireh, the Lord who foresees everything and because He foresees it, He knows how to fashion me. Because He foresees, it He knows how to feed me. Because He foresees it, He knows how to fight for me. It's all been foreseen. He is Yahweh Yireh.

But to understand that, you're gonna have to come back next week, that we might explain it to you. Let's pray together.

Father God, we thank you for today. We thank you for all that you've done. For truly you are a great God. Your name and scripture are critical to us understanding our praise of you. And our prayer today, Lord, is that you would cause us to see you all the more for who you are. That our praise would not just be seasonal, but continual. Praise for us would not be optional, but essential, because praise truly is habitual to our nature. It's to be perpetual in our lives. Because it's critical to how we live for the glory and honor of our King. We thank you in Jesus name, Amen.