First Corinthians 14:26 says that when we all come together everyone has something, and the first item is a psalm; therefore, the psalm is the primary function in the meeting. What is a psalm? A psalm refers to singing, to praising. By this we must realize that the first thing we must do in the meetings is to sing praises.
In our meetings we come far short in singing. We need to spend much time singing. While I am speaking in the meeting or while others are speaking, at a certain point you may just start to sing. At a certain point when your spirit is touched and you are in a kind of ecstasy, simply break forth into singing and the whole congregation will follow. In Revelation chapter five, we read that when Christ ascended to the heavens the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sang a new song, saying, “Thou art worthy...” They did not give a sermon or listen to a message; they just praised, praised, praised! “Blessing and honor and glory be unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” How good it would be if we could have a meeting just for praising. This kind of praising will simply bring you into an ecstasy; you will be in the third heavens with everything under your feet.
The main thing in 1 Corinthians 14 is to prophesy, and the first thing is to praise. The central matter in the meeting of the church is to prophesy, to speak something for Christ, that the church might be built up, but the first thing in the meetings of the church is to praise. When we come together, everyone has a mouth to praise and a psalm for praising. Do you see the contrast between God’s way and our present situation? We all must drop our background and linger no longer in the present, degraded situation. We must be brought back to the original way. We have not invented this; we have only discovered what has been here for nearly two thousand years.
Let us consider some of the verses in the Bible about praising. We have spent much time to discover these verses and put them together. They are gems from a mine.
“And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” There is no need for you to fight the battle; just praise the Lord and the enemy will be defeated. How can you overcome your temper? Forget about your temper and praise the Lord. Just by praising Him all your enemies will be under your feet. Just by praising Him you will ascend to the heavens. Just by praising Him all your besetting sins will be overcome. Hallelujah, Christ is victor! Just praise the Lord; God will set an ambush against the enemy, and he will be smitten. It is so simple.
“But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.” “Ever shout for joy”—not once a day or once in a while, but ever. You may say that this is a little too much, but this is a psalm. You may say it is wild, but David said it is poetic. Have you ever shouted? How about today? What does it mean to shout? To shout is not to call or to cry in a mild way, but more or less in a wild way. Sometimes, if not all the time, you must shout to your dear wife, “Hallelujah!” Sometimes in the meetings some of the brothers must shout, “Hallelujah,” or “Amen!” Sometimes when you are saying, “O Lord, O Lord,” it seems that you are not getting through to touch the Lord. If you will raise your voice and shout from deep within, “O LORD! O LORD!” you will break right through and touch the Lord. Even the demons and the devil are afraid of our shouting. Do not be so cowardly. Sometimes when you say “O Lord” in a mild way, it really works; but sometimes it does not work and you must shout, “O LORD, AMEN, HALLELUJAH!” The Old Testament saints experienced this. If they shouted, how much more must we shout!