09/23/2005 Sabbath Meeting Transcript

For many of us, this week is a special week of rejoicing and praising Yahweh

Leviticus 23:40 - And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before YAHWEH your Elohim seven days.

Leviticus 23:41 - And ye shall keep it a feast unto YAHWEH seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

Yahweh desires that we come together, rejoice and praise Him with all of our hearts

Scripture has much to say concerning this topic and there are many example of holy men praising Yahweh.

It is a humble act to give praise, and when Yahweh is praised the humble will hear it and also rejoice:

Psalms 34:1 - I will bless YAHWEH at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalms 34:2 - My soul shall make her boast in YAHWEH: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

One of the most common ways of praising Yahweh is through song.

Many times we are told to sing praises to Yahweh:

Psalms 9:11 - Sing praises to YAHWEH, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

Psalms 95:1 - O come, let us sing unto YAHWEH: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Psalms 33:2 - Praise YAHWEH with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

Additionally, we are encouraged to sing praises to him with some kind of instrument. As we saw in the above scripture, it was with an instrument of 10 strings and a harp.

Other instruments are ...

The psaltery:

Psalms 108:2 - Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

The timbrel or tambourine:

Psalms 81:2 - Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

The trumpet, and stringed instruments

Psalms 150:3 - Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Also the cymbals:

Psalms 150:3 - Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

And Pipes or Flutes:

1Kings 1:39 - And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Elohim save king Solomon.

1Kings 1:40 - And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

All these are spoken of favorably in scripture. David established a great number of people devoted to the praise of Yahweh. David eventually had 4000 to praise Yahweh with Instruments:

1Chronicles 23:5 - Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised YAHWEH with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

When the temple was dedicated, praise to Yahweh ushered in the Holy Spirit:

2Chronicles 5:11 - And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:

2Chronicles 5:12 - Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

2Chronicles 5:13 - It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking YAHWEH; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised YAHWEH, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of YAHWEH;

2Chronicles 5:14 - So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of YAHWEH had filled the house of Elohim.

2Chronicles 5:15 -

2Chronicles 6:1 - Then said Solomon, YAHWEH hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

2Chronicles 6:2 - But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

What a moment this must have been!

Note that the presence of Yahweh came near after the people were singing and praising and thanking Yahweh as one sound.

It is written that Yahweh inhabits our praises:

Psalms 22:3 - But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

I don't think that those praising Yahweh at that moment mumbled their praise. We are encouraged to praise Him and praise Him loudly:

Psalms 98:4 - Make a joyful noise unto YAHWEH, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Psalms 33:3 - Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

We are even encouraged to clap our hands and shout unto Yahweh:

Psalms 47:1 - O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto Elohim with the voice of triumph.

Yes, sing aloud to Yahweh our strength and make a joyful noise!

Psalms 81:1 - Sing aloud unto Elohim our strength: make a joyful noise unto the Elohim of Jacob.

When we unashamedly shout aloud to Yahweh with all of our heart in praise to Him, we are a fitting dwelling place for His Spirit

And awesome things begin to take place:

Consider the power of praise in the example where Jehoshaphat fought against a multitude of enemies:

2Chronicles 20:17 - Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of YAHWEH with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for YAHWEH will be with you.

2Chronicles 20:18 - And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before YAHWEH, worshipping YAHWEH.

2Chronicles 20:19 - And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise YAHWEH Elohim of Israel with a loud voice on high.

2Chronicles 20:20 - And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in YAHWEH your Elohim, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

There praise to Yahweh was an affirmation of their faith

(Their)

2Chronicles 20:21 - And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto YAHWEH, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise YAHWEH; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Their faith in Yahweh was so strong, that they put the singers on the front lines of the battle!

2Chronicles 20:22 - And when they began to sing and to praise, YAHWEH set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

2Chronicles 20:23 - For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

2Chronicles 20:24 - And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

Does this not demonstrate for us the power of praise? Put the singers first instead of the fighters and watch Yahweh throw your enemies into confusion!

For the battle is truly Yahweh's

So it is with us:

2Corinthians 10:3 - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

2Corinthians 10:4 - for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

2Corinthians 10:5 - Destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of YAHWEH, taking every thought captive to the obedience of the Messiah,

Sometimes, when we have sinned, or perhaps in times of distress or sorrow, we may not feel like praising Yahweh.

David must have felt this way after his sin with Bathsheba

In the psalm that David wrote after his sin was found out, David wrote:

Psalms 51:12 - Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Psalms 51:13 - Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psalms 51:14 - Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O Elohim, thou Elohim of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Psalms 51:15 - O YAHWEH, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

We too can ask Yahweh to open our lips in praise to Him, for His mercy is truly great. In David's repentance, He was asking Yahweh for forgiveness and telling Yahweh that He would sing aloud of HIS Righteousness

Brethren, think of this application in our daily lives...

If we consider all that Yahweh has done for us.. in sending His Son to die for our sins and bring us His righteousness through Messiah, even more so we do have reason to praise Him today and every day

When we praise Yahweh together with our children in our own homes, we are showing Yahweh our thanksgiving and keeping ourselves humble

For we are exalting Yahweh, who alone belongs all praise and honor

A home that is filled with His Spirit will be filled with praise to Yahweh:

Ephesians 5:18 - And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Ephesians 5:19 - speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to YAHWEH,

That's the kind of home we all should want, and have!

Consider how much there is to praise Yahweh for!

His Torah/law:

Psalms 119:164 - Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

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His Mercy:

Isaiah 12:1 - And in that day thou shalt say, O YAHWEH, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Isaiah 12:2 - Behold, El is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for YAH YAHWEH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:3 - Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:4 - And in that day shall ye say, Praise YAHWEH, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Isaiah 12:5 - Sing unto YAHWEH; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Isaiah 12:6 - Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

We can praise Him for His miracles and His Messiah:

Luke 19:37 - And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise YAHWEH with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

Luke 19:38 - Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of YAHWEH: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

And of course, millions of other things!

But when we sing praises, we should sing praises with understanding:

Psalms 47:6 - Sing praises to Elohim, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

Psalms 47:7 - For Elohim is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

Psalms 47:8 - Elohim reigneth over the heathen: Elohim sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

So we need to be paying attention to what we are singing when we sing unto Yahweh.. and sing to Him with understanding.

Praise to Him is not intended to be a ritual that you just go through because you are supposed to do it

It is intended to be a true, from the heart, act of love and adoration to Yahweh our King.

Sometimes we may get tempted to instead think about something else while we praise..but it is important that we should always think upon the words that we sing to Yahweh.

Praising Yahweh is considered to be a 'sacrifice' unto Him

Hebrews 13:15 - Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to YAHWEH, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

It is a giving of ourselves. Taking the time to exalt Yahweh Almighty.

Psalms 107:22 - And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

Psalms 116:17 - I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of YAHWEH.

The world receives their provision from Yahweh and passes on as if nothing happened

But we should take the time to give thanks and praise to Him. We do it for one another, how much more so Yahweh!

Jeremiah 33:10 - Thus saith YAHWEH; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,

Jeremiah 33:11 - The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise YAHWEH of hosts: for YAHWEH is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of YAHWEH. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith YAHWEH.

Jonah 2:9 - But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of YAHWEH.

So when we make an offering of praise to Yahweh, should it not be pure?

What is our mind on when we praise Yahweh? On what does our heart meditate?

Are our minds on the greatness of Yahweh or the concern of what others think of our good or awful singing?

Are our minds on the greatness of Yahweh or does our mind drift into other things?

if our minds are on other things, does this not fall short of a pure offering?

Offering defective animals was never accepted by Yahweh:

Leviticus 22:22 - Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto YAHWEH, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto YAHWEH.

Malachi 1:8 - And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith YAHWEH of hosts.

If defective animals are not accepted, I see nothing would lead me to believe that half-hearted praise would be.

So then, lets offer a pure.. undefiled and blessed praise offering when we do praise

The disciples did offer praise often:

Acts 2:46 - And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Acts 2:47 - Praising YAHWEH, and having favour with all the people. And YAHWEH added to the assembly daily such as should be saved.

After and during persecution:

Acts 16:23 - And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Acts 16:24 - Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Acts 16:25 - And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto YAHWEH: and the prisoners heard them.

Acts 16:26 - And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

Their praise offering in the midst of trials and great physical pain and suffering was a testimony to all who were around them

And even the jailer himself became converted when he saw the great power in praise to Yahweh

Moshe and the children of Israel praised Yahweh:

Exodus 15:1 - Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto YAHWEH, and spake, saying, I will sing unto YAHWEH, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Exodus 15:2 - YAH is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my El, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's Elohim, and I will exalt him.

Yahushua praised Yahweh:

Psalms 22:22 - I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Skillful, sincere praise to Yahweh is a beautiful thing.

Psalms 33:1 - Rejoice in YAHWEH, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

Psalms 33:2 - Praise YAHWEH with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

Psalms 33:3 - Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

So let's be at peace, no matter what the situation and be thankful.. praising Yahweh:

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of Elohim rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of the Messiah dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with favor in your hearts to the Master.

And let's remember the admonition to praise Him by His name YAH:

Psalms 68:4 - Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name YAH, and rejoice before him.

(Look that verse up in your KJV) :)

It actually has "Jah" in that verse!

In the midst of the congregation, we should (like Yahushua) praise Yahweh with all of our heart:

Psalms 111:1 - Praise ye YAHWEH. I will praise YAHWEH with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

See.. Yahweh wants praise with our whole heart. Not just a part

So who should praise Yahweh? And who does praise Yahweh?

Psalms 148:1 - Praise ye YAHWEH. Praise ye YAHWEH from the heavens: praise him in the heights.

Psalms 148:2 - Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Psalms 148:3 - Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Psalms 148:4 - Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

Psalms 148:5 - Let them praise the name of YAHWEH: for he commanded, and they were created.

Psalms 148:6 - He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

Psalms 148:7 - Praise YAHWEH from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:

Psalms 148:8 - Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:

Psalms 148:9 - Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:

Psalms 148:10 - Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:

Psalms 148:11 - Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:

Psalms 148:12 - Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:

Psalms 148:13 - Let them praise the name of YAHWEH: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

ALL should praise His NAME, no matter what your age or the language you speak!

For all the earth is called to give praise to Yahweh who created all things and has done so much for all of us!

Psalms 65:13 - The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

Psalms 69:34 - Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein.

Psalms 98:8 - Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

Isaiah 44:23 - Sing, O ye heavens; for YAHWEH hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for YAHWEH hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

Isaiah 55:12 - For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

When we look upon His creation and the beauty therein, it becomes evident that the things which He created cry out in praise to Him

For the beauty and awesomeness of His creation demonstrates His power, His love and His majesty

And so all the angels also praise Yahweh:

Revelation 7:11 - All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped YAHWEH,

Revelation 7:12 - saying, " Amein: Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our Elohim forever and ever."

There are also four living creatures who continually offer praise to Yahweh:

Revelation 4:8 - The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, YAHWEH El-Shaddai, who was and is and is to come!"

For what length of time should WE praise Yahweh?

as we read..

Psalms 119:164 - Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Psalms 34:1 - I will bless YAHWEH at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalms 104:33 - I will sing unto YAHWEH as long as I live: I will sing praise to my Elohim while I have my being.

Psalms 35:28 - And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Psalms 71:6 - By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

Psalms 145:1 - I will extol thee, my Elohim, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

Therefore, let's praise and bless His name forever and ever, for He is worthy!

And as we gather together as a people who love Him

Let's take the time to often give Him praise in all things

I have found that our praises to Yahweh not only lift up Yahweh, but they lift us up too!

HalleluYah, may the Holy one of Israel be forever praised and may we continue in the grace and favor of Yahweh, so that although we die .. we shall live again...

That we might live to praise Yahweh, our Mighty One throughout all eternity!

Let it be so, we pray Abba Yahweh.. and may Your mercy and love continue to be upon us, Your people.. Your servants

May you be blessed by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. HalleluYah!