The Ministry of Praise
The ministry of praise is a source of hope and confidence, and it helps to refresh our souls and overcome our fears and worries.
John Henry Jowett emphasizes the importance of reflecting on God's past faithfulness as a source of hope for the future. By remembering and praising God for His blessings and provisions in the past, our hearts are filled with confidence and our worries fade away. Jowett highlights how praise is essential for nurturing other virtues and graces in our lives, breathing life into them and ushering in a radiant spirit of hope.
Text
PSALM cxv.
"The Lord hath been mindful of us: He will bless us." In that joyful
assurance there is both retrospect and prospect. There is the trodden
pathway of Providence, and there is the star of hope! The eyes are
steadied and refreshed in sacred memories, and then they gaze into the
future with serene and happy confidence. And so the Ebenezer of the soul
becomes both a thanksgiving and a reconsecration.
Now perhaps our hopes are thin because our praises are scanty. Perhaps our
expectations are clouded because our memories are dim. There is nothing so
quickens hope as a journey among the mercies of our yesterdays. The heart
lays aside its fears amid the accumulated blessings of our God. Worries
pass away like cloudlets in the warmth of a summer's morning. And the
recollections of God's goodness always make summer even in the wintriest
day.
Now I see why the New Testament is so urgent in the matter of praise.
Without praise many other virtues and graces cannot be born. Without
praise they have no breath of life. Praise quickens a radiant company
of heavenly presences, and among them is the shining spirit of hope.
Sermon Outline
- 'The Ministry of Praise: A Source of Hope'
- The Power of Praise in Quickening Hope
- The Urgency of Praise in the New Testament
- Praise as a Necessary Virtue
- Praise as a Source of Life and Radiant Presence
Key Quotes
“There is nothing so quickens hope as a journey among the mercies of our yesterdays.” — John Henry Jowett
“The heart lays aside its fears amid the accumulated blessings of our God.” — John Henry Jowett
“Praise quickens a radiant company of heavenly presences, and among them is the shining spirit of hope.” — John Henry Jowett
Application Points
- Reflect on the mercies of our yesterdays to cultivate a habit of praise and quicken our hope.
- Praise God for the accumulated blessings in our lives to lay aside our fears and worries.
- Make praise a necessary virtue in our lives to bring a radiant company of heavenly presences into our lives.