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By: Robert E. Zink
November 7, 2022
A Song of Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
Psalm 145:1-5
The Psalms direct our attention to the Lord by directing our praise for the Lord. They are filled with both reasons for praising the Lord and methods by which to praise Him. Praise is a declaration of the Lord’s greatness by confessing the magnificence of the Lord’s work. By that explication, perhaps one of the most consistent means to praise the Lord is through our obedience to evangelism.
If we pause for a moment, a short meditation upon what happens when we evangelize will reveal that evangelism is converted into praise because of the way it exalts the Lord. As a form of praise, evangelism confesses the magnificence of the Lord’s work by describing man’s destitution while presenting God’s provision. Evangelism is a means by which we honor the Lord by proclaiming His work, a work that is a testimony to God’s greatness and goodness.
One of the unique attributes of praising the Lord through evangelism is that sometimes we do so generally, and sometimes we do so personally. What do I mean by that? Occasionally, we share the gospel generally, illustrating God's greatness by highlighting what the Lord does for all people through His work on the cross. At other times, we highlight the Lord's work personally, sharing with people precisely what the Lord has done in our lives. Though distinctive, both activities offer themselves as praise for the Lord by declaring His mighty acts and drawing people to meditate upon the Lord's wondrous works (see Psalm 145 above).
Overwhelmed by what the Lord has done in our lives personally and in creation generally, the natural response is one of admiration and adoration of the Lord. It's no surprise, then, that one of the Lord's commands in Scripture is to praise the Lord (Psalm 106:1). At the same time that the Christian is commanded to praise the Lord, his life has been commissioned for the work of the Lord. That commission to make disciples by declaring the Lord’s works (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). How appropriate it is that the Lord’s plan for spreading the good news is also a means by which to praise Him as well.
The book of Isaiah begins with a scary assessment of Judah's spiritual deprivation, and through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord condemns them. In that condemnation, though, comes hope, the hope of a Messiah who will deliver them, so that by the time we arrive to chapter 11, the headline of the Lord's work is the establishment of a Davidic King and the regathering of Israel. It's a great testimony to the Lord's attributes as patiently gracious and mercifully kind. It also testifies to the Lord’s activities, showing how the Lord accomplishes His plan of salvation in the land of Israel. And then chapter 12 begins:
You will say in that day:
I will give thanks to you, O Lord . . .
The response to the Lord’s work is praise. But then it goes on and in verse four says the following:
And you will say in that day:
‘Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.’
How is Israel’s praise manifested? By proclaiming and celebrating who the Lord is and what the Lord has done.
Allow me to propose to you that this is what happens when we engage in evangelism; when we share the gospel, we are both proclaiming and celebrating who the Lord is and what He has done. In this way, then, fulfilling the Great Commission is a means by which we praise the Lord.
