1902. The Happy Duty Of Daily Praise

No. 1902-32:289. A Sermon Delivered On Lord’s Day Morning, May 30, 1886, By C. H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

I will extol you, my God, oh King; and I will bless your name for ever and ever. Every day I will bless you; and I will praise your name for ever and ever. {Ps 145:1,2}

1. If I were to ask you the question, “Do you pray?” the answer would be very quickly given by every Christian person, “Of course I do.” Suppose I then added, “And do you pray every day?” the prompt reply would be, “Yes; many times in the day. I could not live without prayer.” This is no more than I expect, and I will not ask the question. But let me change the enquiry, and say, “Do you bless God every day? Is praise as certain and constant a practice with you as prayer?” I am not sure that the answer would be quite so certain, so general, or so prompt. You would have to pause a little while before you gave the reply; and I fear, in some cases, when the reply did come, it would be, “I am afraid I have been negligent in praise.” Well, then, dear friend, have you not been wrong? Should we omit praise any more than we omit prayer? And should not praise come daily and as many times in the day as prayer does? It strikes me that to fail to praise is as unjustifiable as to fail to pray. I shall leave it with your own heart and conscience, when you have asked and answered the question, to see to it in the future that far more of the sweet frankincense of praise is mingled with your daily oblation of devotion.

2. Praise is certainly not at all so common in family prayer as other forms of worship. All of us cannot praise God in the family by joining in song, because we are not all able to carry a tune, but it would be good if we could. I agree with Matthew Henry when he says, “Those who pray in the family do well; those who pray and read the Scriptures do better; but those who pray, and read, and sing do best of all.” There is a completeness in that kind of family worship which is much to be desired.

3. Whether in the family or not, yet personally and privately, let us endeavour to be filled with God’s praise and with his honour all the day. May this be our resolve — “I will extol you, my God, oh King; and I will bless your name for ever and ever. Every day I will bless you; and I will praise your name for ever and ever.”

4. Brethren, praise cannot be a second-class business; for it is evidently due to God, and that in a very high degree. A sense of justice ought to make us praise the Lord; it is the least we can do, and in some senses it is the most that we can do, in return for the multiplied benefits which he bestows upon us. What, no harvest of praise for him who has sent the sunshine of his love and the rain of his grace upon us! What, no revenue of praise for him who is our gracious Lord and King! He does not exact from us any slavish labour, but simply says, “Whoever offers praise glorifies me.” Praise is good, and pleasant, and delightful. Let us rank it among those debts which we would not wish to forget, but are eager to pay at once.

5. Praise is an act which is preeminently characteristic of the true child of God. The man who only pretends to be pious will fast twice in the week, and stand in the temple and offer something like prayer; but to praise God with all the heart, this is the sign of true adoption, this is the sign and token of a heart received by divine grace. We lack one of the best evidences of pure love for God if we live without presenting praise to his ever-blessed name.

6. Praising God is exceptionally beneficial to ourselves. If we had more of it we should be greatly blest. What would lift us so much above the trials of life, what would help us to bear the burden and heat of the day, so well as songs of praise to the Most High? The soldier marches without weariness when the band is playing inspiring strains; the sailor, as he pulls the rope or lifts the anchor, utters a cheery cry to aid his toil; let us try the animating power of hymns of praise. Nothing would oil the wheels of the chariot of life so well as more of the praising of God. Praise would end murmuring, and nurse contentment. If our mouths were filled with the praises of God, there would be no room for grumbling. Praise would throw a halo of glory around the head of toil and thought. In its sunlight the most common duties of life would be transfigured. Sanctified by prayer and praise, each duty would be raised into a hallowed worship, akin to that of heaven. It would make us more happy, more holy, and more heavenly, if we would say, “I will extol you, my God, oh King.”

7. Besides, brethren, unless we praise God here, are we preparing for our eternal home? There everything is praise; how can we hope to enter there if we are strangers to that exercise? This life is a preparatory school and in it we are preparing for the high engagements of the perfected. Are you not eager to rehearse the everlasting hallelujahs?

   I would begin the music here,
      And so my soul should rise:
   Oh, for some heavenly notes to bear
      My passions to the skies!

Learn the essential elements of heavenly praise by the practice of joyful thanksgiving, adoring reverence, and wondering love; so that, when you step into heaven, you may take your place among the singers, and say, “I have been practising these songs for years. I have praised God while I was in a world of sin and suffering, and when I was weighed down by a feeble body; and now that I am set free from earth and sin, and the bondage of the flesh, I take up the same strain to sing more sweetly to the same Lord and God.”

8. I wish I knew how to speak so as to stir up every child of God to praise. As for you who are not his children — oh, that you were such! You must be born again; you cannot praise God properly until you are. “To the wicked God says, ‘What have you to do to declare my statutes, or that you should take my covenant in your mouth?’ ” You can offer him no real praise while your hearts are at enmity to him. Be reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and then you will praise him. Let no one who has tasted that the Lord is gracious, let no one who has ever been delivered from sin by the atonement of Christ, ever fail to pay to the Lord his daily tribute of thanksgiving.

9. To help us in this joyful duty of praise we will turn to our text, and keep to it. May the Holy Spirit instruct us by it!

10. I. In our text we have first of all THE RESOLVE OF PERSONAL LOYALTY: — “I will extol you, my God, oh King.” David personally comes before his God and King, and utters this deliberate resolution that he will praise the divine majesty for ever.

11. Note here, first, that he pays homage to God as his King. There is no praising God properly if we do not see him on the throne, reigning with unquestioned sway. Disobedient subjects cannot praise their sovereign. You must take up the Lord’s yoke — it is easy, and his burden, which is light. You must come and touch his silver sceptre and receive his mercy, and acknowledge him to be your rightful Monarch, Lawgiver, and Ruler. Where Jesus comes, he comes to reign: where God is truly known, he is always known as supreme. Over the united kingdom of our body, soul, and spirit the Lord must reign with undisputed authority. What a joy it is to have such a King! “Oh King,” says David: and it seems to have been a sweet morsel in his mouth. He was himself a king according to the earthly custom; but to him God alone was King. Our King is no tyrant, no maker of cruel laws. He demands no crushing tribute or forced service: his ways are ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace. His laws are just and good; and in the keeping of them there is great reward. Let others exalt that they are their own masters; our joy is that God is our King. Let others yield to this or that passion, or desire; as for us, we find our freedom in complete subjection to our heavenly King. Let us, then, praise God by loyally accepting him as our King; let us repeat with exaltation the hymn we just now sang —

   Crown him, crown him,
   King of kings, and Lord of lords.

Let us not be satisfied that he should reign over us only: but let us long that the whole earth should be filled with his glory. May this be our daily prayer — “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.” Let this be our constant ascription of praise — “For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

12. Notice that the Psalmist, also, in this first sentence, praises the Lord by a present personal appropriation of God to himself by faith: “I will extol you, my God.” That word “my” is a drop of honey; indeed, it is like Jonathan’s woods, full of honey; it seems to drip from every bough, and he who comes into it stands knee-deep in sweetness. “My God” is as high a note as an angel can reach. What is another man’s God to me? He must be my God or I shall not extol him. Say, dear heart, have you ever taken God to be your God? Can you say with David in another place, “This God is our God for ever and ever. He shall be our guide, even to death?” Blessed was Thomas when he bowed down, and put his finger into the print of his Master’s wounds, and cried, “My Lord and my God.” That double-handed grip of appropriation signalled the death of his painful unbelief. Can you say, “Jehovah is my God?” To us there are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; but these are one God, and this one God is our own God. Let others worship whomever they wish, our soul adores and loves this God, yes, claims to be her personal possession. Oh beloved, if you can say, “My God,” you will be bound to exalt him! If he has given himself to you so that you can say, “My Beloved is mine” you will give yourself to him, and you will add, “And I am his.” Those two sentences, like two silken covers of a book, shut in within them the full score of the music of heaven.

13. Observe that David is firmly resolved to praise God. My text has four “I wills” in it. Frequently it is foolish for us poor mortals to say “I will,” because our will is so feeble and fickle; but when we resolve upon the praise of God, we may say, “I will,” and “I will,” and “I will,” and “I will,” until we make a solid square of determinations. Let me tell you that you will need to say “I will” a great many times, for many obstacles will hinder your resolve. There will come depression of spirit, and then you must say, “I will extol you, my God, oh King.” Poverty, sickness, losses, and crosses may assail you, and then you must say, “I will praise your name for ever and ever.” The devil will come and tell you that you have no interest in Christ, but you must say, “Every day I will bless you.” Death will come and perhaps you will be under the fear of it; then it will be incumbent upon you to cry, “And I will praise your name for ever and ever.”

   Sing, though sense and carnal reason
      Fain would stop the joyful song:
   Sing, and count it highest treason
      For a saint to hold his tongue.

A bold man took this motto — “While I live I’ll crow”; but our motto is, “While I live I’ll praise.” An old motto was, “Dum spiro spero”; but the saint improves on it, and cries, “Dum expiro spero.” Not only while I live I will hope, but when I die I will hope: and he even gets beyond all that, and determines — “Whether I live or die I will praise my God.” “Oh God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.”

14. While David is so resolute, I want you to notice that the resolution is strictly personal. He says, “I will extol you.” Whatever others do, my own mind is made up. David was very glad when others praised God: he delighted to join with the great congregation that kept holy day; but still he was attentive to his own heart and his own praise. There is no selfishness in looking well to your own personal state and condition before the Lord. He cannot be called a selfish citizen who is very careful to render his own personal suit and service to his king. A company of people praising God would be nothing unless each individual was sincere and earnest in the worship. The praise of the great congregation is precious in proportion as each individual, with all his heart, is saying, “I will extol you, my God, oh King.” Come, my soul, I will not sit silent, because so many others are singing: however many singers there may be, they cannot sing for me: they cannot pay my private debt of praise, therefore awake, my heart, and extol your God and King. What if others refuse to sing, what if a shameful silence is observed in reference to the praises of God; then, my heart, I must bestir you all the more to a double diligence, that you may with even greater zeal extol your God and King! I will sing a solo if I cannot find a choir in which I may take my part. In any case, my God, I will extol you. At this hour men go off to other lords, and they set up this and that newly-made god; but as for me, my ear is bored to Jehovah’s door-post. I will not go out from his service for ever. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even with cords to the horns of the altar. Whatever happens, I will extol you, my God, oh King.

15. Now brothers and sisters, have you been losing your own personality in the multitude? As members of a large church, have you thought “Things will go on very well without me?” Correct that mistake: each individual must have its own note to bring to God. Let him not have to say to you, “You have bought me no sweet cane with money; neither have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices.” Let us not be slow in his praise, since he has been so swift in his grace.

16. Once more upon this point, while David is so loyally resolving to praise God, you will observe that he is doing it all the time. For the resolution to praise can only come from the man who is already praising God. When he says, “I will extol you,” he is already extolling. We go from praise to praise. The heart resolves, and so plants the seed, and then the life is affected, and the harvest springs up and ripens. Oh brethren, do not let us say, “I will extol you tomorrow,” or, “I will hope to praise you when I grow old, or when I have less business at hand.” No, no; today you are in debt; today acknowledge your obligation. We cannot praise God too soon. Our very first breath is a gift from God, and it should be spent to the Creator’s praise. The early morning hour should be dedicated to praise: do not the birds set us the example? In this matter he gives twice who gives quickly. Let your praise follow quickly upon the benefit you do receive, lest even during the delay you are found guilty of ingratitude. As soon as a mercy touches our coasts, we should welcome it with acclamation. Let us copy the little chick, which, as it drinks, lifts up its head, as if to give thanks. Our thanksgiving should echo the voice of divine lovingkindness. Before the Lord our King, let us continually rejoice as we bless him, and speak well of his name.

17. So, then, I have set before you the resolve of a loyal spirit. Are you loyal to your God and King? Then I charge you to glorify his name. Lift up your hearts in his praise, and in all manner of ways make his name great. Praise him with your lips; praise him with your lives; praise him with your substance; praise him with every faculty and capacity. Be inventive in methods of praise: “sing to the Lord a new song.” Bring out the long-stored and costly alabaster box; break it, and pour the sweet nard upon your Redeemer’s head and feet. With penitents and martyrs extol him! With prophets and apostles extol him! With saints and angels extol him! Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.

18. II. And now I must conduct you to the second clause of the text, which is equally full and instructive. We have in the second part of it THE CONCLUSION OF AN INTELLIGENT APPRECIATION: “And I will bless your name for ever and ever.” Blind praise is not fit for the all-seeing God. God forbid of old the bringing of blind sacrifices to his altar. Our praise ought to have a brain as well as a tongue. We ought to know who the God is whom we praise; hence David says, “I will bless your name”; by which he means — your character, your deeds, your revealed attributes.

19. First, observe that he presents the worship of inward admiration: he knows, and therefore he blesses the divine name. What is this act of blessing? Sometimes “bless” would appear to be used interchangeably with “praise”; yet there is a difference, for it is written, “All your works shall praise you, oh Lord; and your saints shall bless you.” You can praise a man, and yet you may never bless him. A great artist, for example; you may praise him, but he may be so unkind to you and others that it may never occur to you to bless him. Blessing has something in it of love and delight. It is a nearer, dearer, heartier thing than praise. “I will bless your name,” that is to say — “I will take an intense delight in your name: I will lovingly rejoice in it.”

20. The very thought of God is a source of happiness to our hearts; and the more we muse upon his character the more joyful we become. The Lord’s name is love. He is merciful and gracious, tender and compassionate. Moreover, he is a just God, and righteous, faithful, and true, and holy. He is a mighty God, and wise and unchanging. He is a prayer-hearing God, and he always keeps his promise. We would not have him other than he is. We have a sweet contentment in God as he is revealed in Holy Scripture. It is not everyone who can say this, for a great many professors nowadays desire a god of their own making and shaping. If they find anything in Scripture concerning God which grates upon their tender susceptibilities, they cannot endure it. The God who casts the wicked from his presence for ever — they cannot believe in him, they therefore make for themselves a false deity, who is indifferent to sin. All that is revealed concerning God is to me abundantly satisfactory; if I do not comprehend its full meaning, I bow before its mystery. If I hear anything about my God which does not yield me delight, I feel that in this I must be out of order with him, either through sin or ignorance, and I say, “What I do not know, teach me.” I do not doubt that perfectly holy and completely instructed beings are fully content with everything that God does, and are ready to praise him for everything. Do not our souls even now bless the Lord our God, who chose us, redeemed us, and called us by his grace? Whether we view him as Maker, Provider, Saviour, King, or Father, we find in him an unfathomable sea of joy. He is God, our very great joy. Therefore we sit down in holy tranquillity, and feel our soul saying, “Bless the Lord! Bless the Lord!” He is what we would have him to be. He is better than we could have supposed or imagined. He is the crown of delight, the climax of goodness, the sum of all perfection. As often as we see the light, or feel the sun, we would bless the name of the Lord.

21. I think when David said, “I will bless your name,” he meant that he wished well to the Lord. To bless a person means to do that person good. By blessing us what untold benefits the Lord bestows! We cannot bless God in such a sense as in way he blesses us; but we would if we could. If we cannot give anything to God, we can desire that he may be known, loved, and obeyed by all our fellow men. We can wish well to his kingdom and cause in the world. We can bless him by blessing his people, by working for the fulfilment of his purposes, by obeying his precepts, and by taking delight in his ordinances. We can bless him by submission to his chastening hand, and by gratitude for his daily benefits. Sometimes we say with the Psalmist, “Oh my soul, you have said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord: my goodness extends not to you; but to the saints who are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.’ ” Oh, that I could wash Jesus Christ’s feet! Is there a believer here, man or woman, who would not aspire to that office? It is not denied you: you can wash his feet by caring for his poor people, and relieving their needs. You cannot feast your Redeemer; he is not hungry: but some of his people are; feed them! He is not thirsty; but some of his disciples are. Give them a cup of cold water in the Master’s name, and he will accept it as given to himself. Do you not feel today, you who love him, as if you wanted to do something for him? Arise, and do it, and so bless him. It is one of the instincts of a true Christian to wish to do something for his God and King, who has done everything for him. He loved me, and gave himself for me; should I not give myself for him? Oh, for perfect consecration! Oh, to bless God by laying our all on his altar, and spending our lives in his service!

22. It seems, then, dear friends, that David studied the character and doings of God, and so praised him; knowledge should lead our song. The more we know about God the more acceptably shall we bless him through Jesus Christ. I exhort you, therefore, to acquaint yourselves with God. Study his holy Book. As in a mirror you may see here the glory of the Lord reflected, especially in the person of the Lord Jesus, who is in truth the Word, the very name of the Lord. It would be a pity that we should spoil our praises by ignorance: those who know the name of the Lord will trust him and will praise him.

23. It appears from this text that David discovered nothing after a long study of God which would be an exception to this rule. He does not say, “I will bless your name in all except one thing. I have seen some point of terror in what you have revealed of yourself, and in that thing I cannot bless you.” No; without any exception he reverently adores and joyfully blesses God. All his heart is contented with all of God that is revealed. Is it so with us, beloved? I earnestly hope it is.

24. I ask you to notice how intense he grows over this — “I will bless your name for ever and ever.” You have heard the quaint saying of “for ever and a day.” Here you have an advance on it: it is “for ever,” and then another “for ever.” He says, “I will bless your name for ever.” Is that not long enough? No; he adds, “and ever.” Are there two “for evers,” two eternities? Brethren, if there were fifty eternities we would spend them all in blessing the name of the Lord our God. “I will bless your name for ever and ever.” It would be absurd to explain this hyperbolic expression. It runs parallel with the words of Addison, when he says —

   Through all eternity to thee
      My song of joy I’ll raise;
   But oh, eternity’s too short
      To utter all thy praise!

Someone objected to that verse the other day. He said, “Eternity cannot be too short.” Ah, my dear friend, you are not a poet, I can see; but if you could get just a spark of poetry into your soul, literalism would vanish. Truly, in poetry and in praise the letter kills. Language is a poor vehicle of expression when the soul is on fire; words are good enough things for our cool judgment; but when thoughts are full of praise they break the back of words. How often have I stood here and felt that if I could throw my tongue away, and let my heart speak without these syllables and arbitrary sounds, then I might express myself. David speaks as if he scorned to be limited by language. He must leap over even time and possibility to get room for his heart. “I will bless your name for ever and ever.” How I enjoy these enthusiastic expressions! It shows that when David blessed the Lord he did it heartily. While he was musing the fire burned. He felt like dancing before the ark. He was in much the same frame of mind as Dr. Watts when he sang —

   From thee, my God, my joys shall rise
      And run eternal rounds,
   Beyond the limits of the skies,
      And all created bounds.

25. III. But time will fail me unless I pass on at once to the third sentence of our text, which is, THE PLEDGE OF DAILY REMEMBRANCE. Upon this I would dwell with very great earnestness. If you forget my discourse, I would like you to remember this part of the text. “Every day I will bless you”: I will not do it now and be finished with it; I will not take a week of the year in which to praise you, and then leave the other fifty-one weeks silent, but “every day I will bless you.” All the year round I will extol my God. Why should it be so?

26. The greatness of the gifts we have already received demands it. We can never fully express our gratitude for saving grace, and therefore we must keep on at it. A few years ago we were lost and dead; but we are found and made alive again. We must praise God every day for this. We were black as night with sin; but now we are washed whiter than snow: when can we stop praising our Lord for this? He loved me and gave himself for me: when can the day come that I shall cease to praise him for this? Gethsemane and the bloody sweat, Calvary and the precious blood, when shall we ever be finished with praising our dear Lord for all he suffered when he bought us with his own heart’s blood? No, if it were only the first mercies, the mercy of election, the mercy of redemption, the mercy of effectual calling, the mercy of adoption, we have had enough to begin with to make us sing to the Lord every day of our lives. The light which has risen upon us warms all our day with gladness; it shall also light them up with praise.

27. Today it becomes us to sing of the mercy of yesterday. The waves of love as well as of time have washed us up upon the shore of today, and the beach is strewn with love. Here I find myself on a Lord’s day morning exalting because another six days’ work is done, and strength has been given for it. Some of us have experienced a world of lovingkindness between one Sabbath and another. If we had never had anything else from God except what we have received during the last week, we have an overwhelming reason for extolling him today. If there is any day in which we would stop praising God, it must not be the Lord’s day, for —

   This is the day the Lord hath made,
      He calls the hours his own;
   Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad,
      And praise surround the throne.

Oh, let us magnify the Lord on the day of which it can be said —

   To-day he rose and left the dead,
      And Satan’s empire fell;
   To-day the saints his triumphs spread,
      And all his wonders tell.

When we reach tomorrow shall we not praise God for the blessing of the Sabbath? Surely you cannot have forgotten the Lord so soon as Monday! Before you go out into the world, wash your face in the clear crystal of praise. Bury each yesterday in the fine linen and spices of thankfulness.

28. Each day has it’s mercy, and should render its praise. When Monday is over, you will have something to praise God for on Tuesday. He who watches for God’s hand will never be long without seeing it. If you will only look for God’s mercies, with half an eye you will see them every day of the year. Fresh are the dews of each morning, and equally fresh are its blessings. “Fresh trouble,” one says. Praise God for the trouble, for it is a richer form of blessing. “Fresh care,” one says. Cast all your care on him who cares for you, and that act will in itself bless you. “Fresh labour,” says another. Yes, but fresh strength, too.

29. There is never a night which is not followed by a day: never an affliction without its consolation. Every day you must utter the memory of his great goodness.

30. If we cannot praise God on any one day for what we have had that day, let us praise him for tomorrow. “It is better on before.” Let us learn that quaint verse: —

   And a new song is in my mouth,
      To long-lived music set: —
   Glory to thee for all the grace
      I have not tasted yet.

Let us anticipate our future, and draw upon the promises. What if today I am down; tomorrow I shall be up! What if today I cast ashes on my head: tomorrow the Lord shall crown me with lovingkindness! What if today my pains trouble me, they will soon be gone! It will be all the same a hundred years hence, at any rate, and so let me praise God for what is within measurable distance. In a few years I shall be with the angels, and be with my Lord himself. Blessed be his name! Begin to enjoy your heaven now. What does the apostle say? “For our citizenship is in heaven” — not is to be, but is. We belong to heaven now, our names are enrolled among its citizens, and the privileges of the new Jerusalem belong to us at this present moment. Christ is ours, and God is ours!

   This world is ours, and worlds to come;
   Earth is our lodge, and heaven our home.

Therefore let us rejoice and be extremely glad, and praise the name of God this very day.

31. “Every day,” he says, “I will bless you.” There is a seasonableness about the praising of God every day. Praise is in season every month. You woke up, the sunlight streamed into the windows, and touched your eyelids, and you said, “Bless God. Here is a charming summer’s day.” Birds were singing, and flowers were pouring out their perfume; you could not help praising God. But another day it was dark at the time of your rising, you struck a match, and lit your lamp. A thick fog hung like a blanket over everything. If you were a wise man, you said, “Come, I shall not get through the day if I do not make up my mind to praise God. This is the kind of weather in which I must bless God, or else go down in despair.” So you woke yourself up, and began to adore the Lord. One morning you woke up after a refreshing night’s rest, and you praised God for it: but on another occasion you had tossed and turned through a sleepless night, and then you thanked God that the weary night was over. You smile, dear friends, but there is always some reason for praising God. Certain fruits and meats are in season at special times, but the praise of God is always in season. It is good to praise the Lord in the day-time: how charming is the lark’s song as it carols up to heaven’s gate! It is good to bless God at night — how delightful are the liquid notes of the nightingale as it thrills the night with its music! I do therefore say to you very heartily, “Come, let us praise the Lord together, in all kinds of weather, and in all kinds of places.” Sometimes I have said to myself, “During this last week I have been so full of pain that I am afraid I have forgotten to praise God as much as I should have done, and therefore I will have a double draught of it now. I will get alone, and have a special time of thankful thought. I would make up for some of my old arrears, and magnify the Lord above measure.” I do not like feeling that there can ever be a day in which I have not praised him. That day would surely be a blank in my life. Surely the sweetest praise that ever ascends to God is poured out by saints from beds of languishing. Praise in sad times is praise indeed. When your dog loves you because it is dinner-time, you are not sure of him; but when someone else tempts him with a bone, and he will not leave you, though just now you struck him, then you feel that he is truly attached to you. We may learn from dogs that true affection is not dependent on what it is just now receiving. Let us not have a cupboard love for God because of his kind providence; but let us love him and praise him for what he is, and what he has done. Let us follow hard after him when he seems to forsake us, and praise him when he deals harshly with us; for this is true praise. For my part, though I am not long without affliction, I have no faults to find with my Lord, but I desire to praise him, and praise him, and only to praise him. Oh, that I knew how to do it worthily! Here is my resolve: — “I will extol you, my God, oh King; and I will bless your name for ever and ever. Every day I will bless you.”

32. IV. The last sentence of the text presents, THE HOPE OF ETERNAL ADORATION. David exclaims here, “And I will praise your name for ever and ever.”

33. I am quite sure when David said that, he believed that God was unchangeable; for if God can change, how can I be sure that he will always be worthy of my praise? David knew that what God had been, he was, and what he was then he always would be. He had not heard the sentence, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever”; nor yet that other, “I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed”; but he knew the truth contained in both these texts, and therefore he said, “I will praise your name for ever and ever.” As long as God is, he will be worthy to be praised.

34. Another point is also clear: David believed in the immortality of the soul. He says, “I will praise your name for ever and ever.” That truth was very dimly revealed in the Old Testament; but David knew it very well. He did not expect to sleep in oblivion, but to go on praising; and therefore he said, “I will praise your name for ever and ever.” No cold hand fell upon him, and no killing voice said to him, “You shall die, and never praise the Lord again.” Oh, no; he looked to live for ever and ever, and praise for ever and ever! Brethren, such is our hope, and we will never give it up. We feel eternal life within our souls. We challenge the cold hand of death to quench the immortal flame of our love, or to silence the ceaseless song of our praise. The dead cannot praise God; and God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Among the living we are numbered through the grace of God, and we know that we shall live because Jesus lives. When death shall come, it shall bring no destruction to us: though it shall change the conditions of our existence, it shall not change the object of our existence. Our tongue may be silenced for a little while, but our spirit, unaffected by the disease of the body, shall go on praising God in its own way; and then, eventually, in the resurrection, even this poor tongue shall be revived, and body, soul, and spirit shall together praise the God of resurrection and eternal glory. “I will praise your name for ever and ever.” We shall never grow weary of this hallowed exercise for ever and ever. It will always be new, fresh, and delightful. In heaven they never require any change beyond those blessed variations of song, those new melodies which make up the everlasting harmony. On and on, for ever telling the story which never will be fully told, the saints will praise the name of the Lord for ever and ever.

35. Of course, dear friends, David’s resolve was that, as long as he was here below he would never cease to praise God; and this is ours also. Brethren, we may have to stop some cherished engagements, but this we will never cease from. At a certain period of life a man may have to stop preaching to a large congregation. Good old John Newton declared that he would never stop preaching while he had breath in his body; and I admire his holy perseverance; but it was a pity that he did not stop preaching at St. Mary Woolnoth; for he often wearied the people, and forgot the thread of his discourse. He might have done better in another place. Ah, well, we may stop preaching, but we shall never stop praising! The day will come when you, my dear friend, cannot go to Sunday School: I hope you will go as long as you ever can toddle there; but it may be you will not be able to interest the children, your memory will begin to fail; but even then you can go on praising the Lord. And you will. I have known old people almost forget their own names, and forget their own children; but I have known them to still remember their Lord and Master. I have heard of one who lay dying, and his friends tried to make him remember certain things; but he shook his head. At last one said, “Do you remember the Lord Jesus?” Then the mind came into full play, the eyes brightened, and the old man eloquently praised his Saviour. Our last gasp shall be given to the praise of the Lord.

36. When once we have passed through the iron gate, and forded the dividing river, then we will begin to praise God in a manner more satisfactory than we can reach at present. In a nobler manner we will sing and adore. What soarings we will attempt upon the eagle wings of love! What plunges we will take into the crystal stream of praise! I think, for a while, when we first behold the throne, we shall do no more than cast our crowns at the feet of him who loved us, and then bow down under a weight of speechless praise. We shall be overwhelmed with wonder and thankfulness. When we rise to our feet again, we will join in the strain of our brethren redeemed by blood, and only drop out of the song when again we feel overpowered with joyful adoration, and are constrained again in holy silence to shrink to nothing before the infinite, unchanging God of love. Oh, to be there! To be there soon! We may be much nearer than we think. I cannot tell what I shall do, but I know this, I want no other heaven than to praise God perfectly and eternally. Is it not so with you? A heart full of praise is heaven in the bud; perfect praise is heaven full-blown. Let us close this discourse by asking for grace from God that, if we have been deficient in praise, we may now mend our ways, and put on the garments of holy adoration. Today and onward may our watchword be “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

[Portion Of Scripture Read Before Sermon — Ps 145]
{See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Spirit of the Psalms — Psalm 100” 100 @@ "(Version 2)"}
{See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Jesus Christ, In Heaven — ‘He Shall Reign For Ever And Ever’ ” 333}
{See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Spirit of the Psalms — Psalm 148” 148 @@ "(Song 1)"}

Spirit of the Psalms
Psalm 100 (Version 1)
1 Before Jehovah’s awful throne,
   Ye nations bow with sacred joy;
   Know that the Lord is God alone;
   He can create and he destroy.
2 His sovereign power, without our aid,
   Made us of clay and form’d us men,
   And when like wandering sheep we stray’d
   He brought us to his fold again.
3 We are his people, we his care,
   Our souls and all our mortal frame;
   What lasting honours shall we rear,
   Almighty Maker, to thy name?
4 We’ll crowd thy gates with thankful songs,
   High as the heavens our voices raise;
   And earth with her ten thousand tongues
   Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise.
5 Wide as the world is thy command;
   Vast as eternity thy love;
   Firm as a rock thy truth must stand,
   When rolling years shall cease to move.
                        Isaac Watts, 1719.

Psalm 100 (Version 2)
1 All people that on earth do dwell,
   Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
   Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell;
   Come ye before him and rejoice.
2 Know that the Lord is God indeed;
   Without our aid he did us make;
   We are his flock, he doth us feed;
   And for his sheep he doth us take.
3 Oh enter then his gates with praise,
   Approach with joy his courts unto:
   Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
   For it is seemly so to do.
4 For why? the Lord our God is good,
   His mercy is for ever sure;
   His truth at all times firmly stood,
   And shall from age to age endure.
                        William Kethe, 1562.

Psalm 100 (Version 3)
1 With one consent let all the earth
   To God their cheerful voices raise;
   Glad homage pay with awful mirth,
   And sing before him songs of praise.
2 Convinced that he is God alone,
   From whom both we and all proceed;
   We, whom he chooses for his own,
   The flock that he vouchsafes to feed.
3 Oh enter then his temple gate,
   Thence to his courts devoutly press,
   And still your grateful hymns repeat,
   And still his name with praises bless.
4 For he’s the Lord, supremely good,
   His mercy is for ever sure;
   His truth, which always firmly stood,
   To endless ages shall endure.
                        Tate and Brady, 1696.

Psalm 100 (Version 4)
1 Ye nations round the earth, rejoice
   Before the Lord, your sovereign King,
   Serve him with cheerful heart and voice,
   With all your tongues his glory sing.
2 The Lord is God; ‘tis he alone
   Doth life, and breath, and being give:
   We are his work, and not our own,
   The sheep that on his pastures live.
3 Enter his gates with songs of joy,
   With praises to his courts repair;
   And make it your divine employ
   To pay your thanks and honours there.
4 The Lord is good, the Lord is kind;
   Great is his grace, his mercy sure;
   And the whole race of man shall find
   His truth from age to age endure.
                           Isaac Watts, 1719.

Jesus Christ, In Heaven
333 — “He Shall Reign For Ever And Ever” <8.7.4.>
1 Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious,
   See the “Man of Sorrow” now;
   From the fight return’d victorious,
   Every knee to him shall bow:
      Crown him, crown him;
   Crowns become the Victor’s brow.
2 Crown the Saviour, angels, crown him;
   Rich the trophies Jesus brings:
   In the seat of power enthrone him,
   While the vault of heaven rings:
      Crown him, crown him;
   Crown the Saviour, “King of kings.”
3 Sinners in derision crown’d him,
   Mocking thus the Saviour’s claim;
   Saints and angels crowd around him,
   Own his title, praise his name;
      Crown him, crown him;
   Spread abroad the Victor’s fame.
4 Hark! those bursts of acclamation!
   Hark! those loud triumphant chords!
   Jesus takes the highest station!
   Oh what joy the sight affords!
      Crown him, crown him;
   “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
                     Thomas Kelly, 1809.

Spirit of the Psalms
Psalm 148 (Song 1)
1 Loud hallelujahs to the Lord,
   From distant worlds where creatures dwell;
   Let heaven begin the solemn word,
   And sound it dreadful down to hell.
2 The Lord! how absolute he reigns!
   Let every angel bend the knee;
   Sing of his love in heavenly strains,
   And speak how fierce his terrors be.
3 Wide as his vast dominion lies,
   Make the Creator’s name be known;
   Loud as his thunder shout his praise,
   And sound it lofty as his throne.
4 Jehovah! ‘tis a glorious word;
   Oh may it dwell on every tongue!
   But saints who best have known the Lord
   Are bound to raise the noblest song.
5 Speak of the wonders of that love
   Which Gabriel plays on every chord:
   From all below, and all above,
   Loud hallelujahs to the Lord.
                           Isaac Watts, 1719.
Psalm 148 (Song 2)
1 Praise ye Jehovah, shout and sing,
   Extol his glorious name;
   From day to day your praises bring,
   His power and love proclaim.
   All, all ye saints, where’er ye be,
   And angels round his throne,
   Praise ye the Co-eternal Three,
   The Great Mysterious One.
2 Oh sun and moon, your Maker praise,
   And stars of feebler light;
   Oh heaven of heavens, in joyful lays
   Adore the God of might.
   Let earth and water, fire and air,
   Praise the Eternal King,
   All, all ye creatures everywhere,
   Your constant praises sing.
                     John Beaumont, 1834.

(Copyright (c) 2015, Larry and Marion Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario. Permission for non-profit publishing/distribution of this sermon on paper is freely granted. Contact Larry Pierce, (519) 664-2266 (larrypierce@alumni.uwaterloo.ca) for permission for all other forms of publishing/distribution. We have not knowingly changed the meaning of this sermon. We intended only to eliminate archaic language. If you find a place were you think we have changed the meaning, please contact us so we can correct it.