¹¹ And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, ¹³ so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

“When was the last time that you simply praised God?” – Pastor Billy Johnson

Praise needs to brought back to the front of our lives and more specifically, our mouths.

Praise is a command, and it belongs to God.

In making praise a priority, we need to:

Have an informed praise (vs 10)

Be informed on who to praise, on how to praise and the way to praise. According to 1 Chronicles 15:13 – there is a right way to praise God.

Have a collective praise (vs 11)

There is something powerful and wonderful about praising God corporately.

Have a faith praise (vs 11)

The people praised God when the foundation was laid. We need to give God praise ‘on the way’ in anticipation of what He will do.

Have a multi-generational praise (vs 12) and Psalms 145:4

Have an emotional praise (vs 12).

The people wept and shouted. David praised emotionally (2 Samuel 6:16, 21-22)

Have a loud praise (vs 13)

Make a loud noise (Psalms 100:1).

We need to make praise a priority. Praise God for his goodness and mercy.