For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 61:11
The attributes of God are so exalted that, just by remembering them, praise will come from our lips. God is good, holy, worthy, merciful, almighty, righteous, sovereign, among many other qualities that make him worthy of all praise. But Isaiah 61:11 goes beyond all that. Praise sprouts from God himself, who places in us both the will and the work of giving praise, glory and honor to Him who lives forever.
There are other attributes and qualities of God that bring praise to the lips of those who take them into account. God is glorious, wise, great, majestic, strong, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, self-existent, protector, victor, clement, high, creator, eternal, provider and healer, among many exceptional characteristics. There are plenty of reasons to praise God.
Isaiah 61:11 points out another of God’s qualities that He brings forth together with praise, His righteousness. God is righteous and this is a great reason to praise Him. Psalms 45:6 says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. The psalmist is praising the throne of God, which he calls the scepter of righteousness. While Psalms 71:19 says, Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?
God’s righteousness sprouts praise. In fact, Psalms 98 and 146 are entitled “Praise for the righteousness of God.” Not in vain did our Lord Jesus Christ say in Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Let’s seek the righteousness of God before any of the other things, praise the righteous and sprout praise along with His righteousness before the nations in the same way that the seed of the earth springs forth.
From Psalm 98 we learn how praise for God’s righteousness manifests itself. Psalms 98:4 says, Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. In that way we approach our righteous God, of whom Psalm 98:9 says the following: For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.
Let our praise be as David expressed it in Psalms 35:28, And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long. Without a doubt that God’s righteousness and His praise go hand in hand. Thanks to His righteousness, we who have responded to His plan of salvation have been justified. That makes our lips full of praise for His love, for His forgiveness, for His grace and His salvation.
The final part of Paul’s prayer for believers is in Philippians 1:9-11 and it goes like this, And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Let’s fill ourselves with the fruits of justice for His praise. God bless you.