Young People's Group

“I WILL PRAISE YOU WITH THE WHOLE HEART” (I)

by Pastor Mitch
October 14, 2012

The Significance Of Praising The Lord With The Whole Heart

Since I was young, I was taught to put my whole heart into whatever I was doing. If I cannot put my whole heart into it, then it would be better not to do it at all. Through the years, I have learnt that praising God is something that delights Him much and He wants us to do it with our whole heart.

“I will praise You with my whole heart” 
Psalm 138:1

The Psalmist had this great determination to give his full-hearted praise to God. If we want to praise God, then it should be with nothing less than our whole heart. David understood how important it was to praise God in this manner. What is the significance of doing so?

1. It Expresses Sincerity Of Witness Of God

“Before the gods I will sing praises to You” 
Psalm 138:1

The Psalmist wrote of how before all the gods (or kings or judges), he would give exuberant and joyful praise to God. David was now king and he recognised that how he testified of the Lord before other kings, rulers and officials would affect the effectiveness of his testimony. If he was half-hearted about his praise of God, people would be able to notice this. They would not be very impressed with such lacklustre speaking/worship. David knew he had to praise God with his whole heart.

2. It Expresses Full Focus On God

“I will worship toward Your holy temple” 
Psalm 138:2

Praising God with the whole heart also expresses fullness of focus on the Lord and not on anything or anyone else. David was going to offer his worship of God towards His holy temple. At this point of time, the actual temple building had not been built yet. And so David was not referring to the physical building. He was referring to the heavenly temple of God where He dwells. His whole heart was focusing on worshipping the Lord and only the Lord

3. It Expresses High Regard Of God And His Name

“And praise Your name” 
Psalm 138:2

The Psalmist had the highest regard for the Lord’s name. In many of his psalms, he had mentioned about praising the Lord’s name. Some examples are Psalm 7:17, Psalm 8:1, Psalm 9:2, Psalm 18:49, Psalm 22:22 and many others. He loved the Lord’s name and he was fully committed to honouring and lifting His name up. He praised God with the whole heart because he knew that the honour of God’s name was at stake.

4. It Expresses Depth Of Appreciation And Response To God

“For Your lovingkindness and Your truth” 
Psalm 138:2

The Psalmist through years had come to truly appreciate the lovingkindness of God. God had been most merciful and gracious to him. He appreciated God’s love through the truth of His word that He had given to him. He had seen how God’s word has been magnified by Him above what he had expected. He had given him so much in his life. His only response was to praise God with his whole heart. Let’s appreciate what God has done for us. Let’s follow the example of David in praising the Lord with the whole heart because of His lovingkindness and truth.

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