Praise for Who He Is

Dannah Gresh: Worship music comes in a variety of styles. At my church on a Sunday morning, we might sing a song like this:

Kari Jobe "The Revelation Song":

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: But Dannah, when you and I were in South Africa, we heard a very different style of worship . . .

[Praise and worship in Zulu.]

Dannah: That was a powerful moment, Nancy, I will never forget! They were singing a blessing over us. Well, whether your worship is stately and grand. 

Choir singing "Praise My Soul the King of Heaven":

Praise my soul the King of heaven.
(by Henry Lyte)

Nancy: . . . or “down home” and heartfelt . . . 

Gaither Homecoming "Revive Us Again":

Hallelujah, Thine the glory; hallelujah, amen!
(by William Mackay)

Nancy: . . . we’re worshipping the great God of the universe, who understands all languages.

Dámaris Carbaugh "Holy, Holy, Holy":

Santo, santo, santo, Te adoro reverente:
Dios en tres personas, bendita Trinidad.
(by Heber/Dykes)

Dannah: Today, we’re praising God for who He is!

Shai Linne "Triune Praise":

All praise to the Trinity, the same in Your essence, distinct in Your ministry. 
I'll stand amazed for the rest of my days pouring out my heart in Triune praise. 
Yeah! Praise God the Father . . .
(by Shai Linne)

Dannah: This is Revive Our Hearts Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Choosing Gratitude, for Thursday, November 24, 2022. Dannah Gresh.

Happy Thanksgiving! Nancy, where are you today?

Nancy: Robert and I are with family in the Atlanta area.

Dannah: And I’m planning to be with family, too, but in Pennsylvania. Earlier this week, Nancy, you were teaching us from Psalm 95, and it’s been rich. I just want to take a moment and remember where we’ve been. The first two verses of Psalm 95 are a call from God to worship Him.

Nancy: And we said that worship includes singing and even shouting joyfully to the Lord!

Dannah: And then we looked at causes for worship. 

Nancy: Yes, we see them right in this passage, Psalm 95. He is the Rock of our salvation. He is a great God. He is a great King. He is Creator, Sovereign Lord and Sustainer of the universe . . . a lot of causes for worship! 

Dannah: And then we turned our hearts to a warning to heed. 

Nancy: Yes, the psalmist says really clearly, “In light of what you’ve seen, what you know about God, be sure you don’t harden your heart!” We want to have tender hearts toward God. Today we want to spend some time listening to some songs of praise. 

Dannah: So I don’t know what you’re doing right now. Maybe you’re driving somewhere to be with friends and family. Maybe you’re celebrating with family; you’ve gathered some of them around to listen to this program together. Maybe you’re preparing the turkey.

Maybe you’re just by yourself. I want you to remember that you’re not really alone. God is right there with you! Whatever you’re doing, we want to invite you to focus your attention on praising God for who He is. Tomorrow on Revive Our Hearts we’ll do the same thing, only praising Him for what He has done.

Nancy: As we’ve already mentioned, worship music comes in a variety of “flavors!” But God cares a lot more about our heart attitudes than the style of the music or even how well it’s done. We’re going to be listening to some psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs today—all praising God for His character and His attributes. If you know some of these, I hope you’ll sing along.

Verse 8 of 1 John 4 tells us that God is love. Are you thankful today for the love of God? Here’s one of my favorite singers and songwriters, Sara Groves, with her take on a classic hymn by Frederick M. Lehman.

Sarah Groves "The Love of God": 

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure the saints’ and angels’ song.

Nancy: Psalm 36 says to us: 

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights . . . Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! (vv. 7, 8, 10).

Sarah Groves “The Love of God”: 

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made;
Were every [tree] on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade. 
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. 

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure the saints’ and angels’ song.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure the saints’ and angels’ song. ¹

Dannah: From Psalm 136:1–3: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Nancy: “Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Dannah:  “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Nancy: “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Psalm 100 tells us to give thanks to the Lord and bless his name. Why? Verse 5: “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations!”

Keith and Kristyn Getty “Shout for Joy”: 

Oh, shout for joy unto the Lord worship Him with gladness,
Let all the earth bring songs of praise telling of His greatness.
Know that the Lord we praise is God; He is God our Maker,
And we are His, a people called sheep within His pasture.

Oh, enter in His gates with praise, His courts with great thanksgiving.
For He is good, His love endures morning after morning.

Oh, shout for joy unto the Lord! See the way is open,
To live in peace beneath His grace, every sin forgiven.
For He who knew no mark of sin took our sin upon Him,
That we might be the righteousness of the God of heaven.

Oh, enter in His gates with praise, His courts with great thanksgiving.
For He is good, His love endures morning after morning.

Oh, shout for joy unto the Lord through the hours of darkness,
For day by day His faithful hand ever stays upon us.
With every morning rise, we kneel; all our lives we offer,
To be a living sacrifice wholly to the Savior.

Oh, enter in His gates with praise, His courts with great thanksgiving.
For He is good, His love endures morning after morning.” ²

Vertical Church Worship Band, Psalm 96: 

Sing to the Lord a new song;
   sing to the Lord all the earth!
Sing to the Lord and bless his name,
   tell of His salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
   he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols
   but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor, majesty are before him,
   strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

So ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord glory due his name;
   bring an offering and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness,
   tremble before him all the earth.

Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!
   Yes, his world is established; and will not be moved;
   and he will judge the peoples with equity."

So let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
   let the sea roar and all that fills it;
   let the field exalt and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
   before the Lord for He comes,
   for he comes to judge the world with righteousness,
   and all the peoples with His faithfulness. 

Yes Lord, You’re faithful to us!

Vertical Church Worship Band singing "Psalm 96": 

Jesus, Jesus, yesterday, today forever, you're the same.

Everlasting, never failing,
Yesterday, today, forever, you're the same. 

Jesus, Jesus, yesterday, today forever, you're the same.

Everlasting, never failing,
Yesterday, today, forever, you're the same.” (Jesus!)

Yesterday, today, forever, You're the same.” ³

Yes, You are Lord: Jesus, Jesus.

Andrew Peterson “Is He Worthy”: 

Do you feel the world is broken?
(“We do.”)

Do you feel the shadows deepen?
(“We do.”)

But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? 
(“We do.”)

Do you wish that you could see it all made new? 
(“We do.”)

Is all creation groaning?
(“It is.”)

Is a new creation coming? 
(‘It is.”)

Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst? 
(“It is.”)

Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? 

(“It is!”)

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? 
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave,
He is David's Root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave.

Is He worthy? Is He worthy
Of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is He worthy of this? He is!

Does the Father truly love us? 
(“He does.”)

Does the Spirit move among us? 
(“He does.”)

And does Jesus, our Messiah hold forever those He loves? 
(“He does.”)

Does our God intend to dwell again with us? 
(“He does.”) 

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? 
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave,
He is David's Root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave.

From every people and tribe, every nation and tongue,
He has made us a kingdom and priests to God to reign with the Son. 
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is He worthy? Is He worthy? 
Is He worthy of this? He is!
Is He worthy? Is He worthy? He is! He is!” ⁴

Nancy: Wow! Amen! That’s Andrew Peterson with his song based Revelation chapter 5. He’s been reminding us that Jesus truly is worthy to receive all blessing and honor and glory! Before that, we heard “Psalm 96” from Vertical Worship, and Keith and Kristyn Getty’s “Shout for Joy” based on Psalm 100.

Dannah: Today’s program of Scripture and music is a follow-up to Nancy’s three-day teaching series about worship. We heard it earlier this week and you can hear it by visiting ReviveOurHearts.com. Look for the series “Oh Come! Worship & Warning in Psalm 95.”

I am so grateful that we get to explore topics like this together and point women to the wonderful truth of God’s Word!

Nancy:  Me too, Dannah! And on this Thanksgiving Day I want to thank every listener who helps make Revive Our Hearts possible. We are here today, thanks to the prayers of our listeners. And we are able to continue bringing you programs like this because of listeners who give faithfully to Revive Our Hearts. Thank you so much for supporting this ministry!

And I want to say a special thank you to the producer of today’s program, Phil Krause, who has helped lead us in this really special time of worship!

Dannah: Today we’ve been focusing through worship on some of the attributes of God: who He is. Tomorrow on Revive Our Hearts, we’ll turn our attention to praising Him for the things He’s done. I’m Dannah Gresh, saying, “Have a wonderful day today, giving thanks to God!” and inviting you back tomorrow for Revive Our Hearts.

As we close our program today, CityAlight reminds us that we serve a holy God, who alone is worthy of our worship.

CityAlight “Only a Holy God”: 

Who else commands all the hosts of heaven?
Who else could make every king bow down?
Who else can whisper and darkness trembles?
Only a Holy God!

What other beauty demands such praises?
What other splendour outshines the sun?
What other majesty rules with justice?
Only a Holy God! 

Come and behold Him,
The One and the Only!
Cry out, sing, “Holy,”
Forever a Holy God;
Come and worship the Holy God!

What other glory consumes like fire?
What other power can raise the dead?
What other name remains undefeated?
Only a Holy God! 

Come and behold Him,
The One and the Only.
Cry out, sing, “Holy,”
Forever a Holy God;
Come and worship the Holy God!

Come and behold Him,
The One and the Only.
Cry out, sing, “Holy,”
Forever a Holy God;
Come and worship the Holy God,
Come and worship the Holy God! 

Come and behold Him,
The One and the Only.
Cry out, sing, “Holy,”
Forever a Holy God;
Come and worship the Holy God!⁵

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth wants to help you be thankful every day for your freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

¹ “The Love of God,” Sara Groves, Abide with Me ℗ 2017 Sponge Records.

² “Shout for Joy” (The New Hundredth), Keith & Kristyn Getty, Hymns for the Christian Life (Deluxe Version) ℗ 2012 Getty Music Label, LLC.

³ “Psalm 96,” Vertical Worship, Church Songs ℗ 2015 Provident Label Group LLC, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment.

⁴ “Is He Worthy?,” Andrew Peterson, Resurrection Letters, Vol. 1 ℗ 2018 Andrew Peterson, under exclusive license to Centricity Music.

⁵ “Only a Holy God,” CityAlight, Only a Holy God ℗ 2016 CityAlight Music.

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