Psalm 66:2 “Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious.”
All Christians know that we are called to praise God but what does praising God look like, how do we do it and why is it so important? This Bible study looks at what the Scriptures teach us about praise.
The first thing we notice is that the Lord stands above all others and He alone deserves our praise.
2 Samuel 22:4 “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised…”
1 Chronicles 16:25 “For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods.”
(See also Psalm 96:4)
Psalm 145:3 “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.”
Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
There are many scriptures, particularly in the Psalms about who should praise the Lord.
* Those who are His people
Psalm 33:1“Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
* Everyone living on the earth
Psalm 67:5 “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.” (See also v.7)
Psalm 117:1 “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”
Psalm 106:48 “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD!”
* People of every generation
Psalm 45:17 “I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.”
Psalm 79:13 “So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.” (See also Psalm 78:4)
Psalm 102:18 “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.”
* All of creation on earth and in heaven
Psalm 69:34 “Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.”
Psalm 89:5 “And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.”
Psalm 98:4 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.”
Psalm 148:3 “Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!”
Psalm 148:2 “Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!”
Psalm 150 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”
The Psalms also tell us when we should praise the Lord.
Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 35:28 “And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long.”
Psalm 113:3 “From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised.”
Psalm 119:164 “Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.”
Psalm 145:2 “Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.” (See also Psalm 72:15)
There are many reasons to praise God.
We praise Him for who He is.
Psalm 7:17 “I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness…”
(See also Psalm 48:10)
Psalm 21:13 “Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.”
Psalm 33:4-5 “For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.”
Psalm 63:3 “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.”
Psalm 99:3 “Let them praise Your great and awesome name – He is holy.”
Psalm 101:1 “I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.”
Psalm 135:3 “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good…”
Psalm 138:2 “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”
And we praise Him for what He has done.
Psalm 9:1 “I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.”
Psalm 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.”
Psalm 33:6-10 “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouse. Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.”
Psalm 71:6 “By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.”
Psalm 118:21 “I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.”
Isaiah 25:1 “O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”
Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…”
Jeremiah 20:13 “Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of evildoers.”
There are a number of scriptures that describe ways in which we can praise the Lord.
Psalm 33:2-3 “Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.” (See also Psalm 71:22; 144:9; 147:7)
Psalm 149:3 “Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.”
Psalm 104:33 “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” (See also Psalm 92:1)
Psalm 150:1-6 “Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Whether we praise with musical instruments, with songs and shouts or with dance we should do it with our whole being.
Psalm 146:1 “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!”
Psalm 86:12 “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.”
Psalm 138:1 “I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.”
Psalm 111:1 “Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.”
There are times when we do not feel like praising the Lord. Then we must make the choice to praise Him in spite of our circumstances and emotions.
Psalm 42:5 “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.” (See also v.11)
Jeremiah 33:11 speaks of “the voice of those who will say: “Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever”- and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD.”
Habakkuk 3:17-18 “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Hebrews 13:15 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
When we choose to praise God it changes the spiritual atmosphere. It creates an environment that invites God’s presence.
Psalm 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”
2 Chronicles 5:13-14 “…indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.”
And when God is present situations change.
We find a great example of that in 2 Chronicles 20 when the armies of the Moabites and Ammonites came to fight against Judah during the reign of King Jehoshaphat. Before the battle the people were encouraged by a prophet to fix their eyes on the Lord and to praise Him.
2 Chronicles 20:17-19 “‘You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.’
“And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. [19] Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.”
When they went out the next morning to fight the worship team went first. As they led the people in praise of the Lord, the enemy turned on one another and defeated themselves.
Vv.21-22 “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: ‘Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.’ Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.”
We see another example when Paul and Silas were put in jail.
Acts 16:25-26 “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”
It is good to praise the Lord!
Psalm 147:1 “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.”
Copyright © 2026 Jill Partis. All rights reserved.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV), unless otherwise indicated.
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