In the book of Acts, praise had an astonishing effect on those who heard it. Read Acts 16:16-34. Having been stripped and beaten hard, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. No one was there to put ointment on their badly cut and bruised backs. In great physical pain and with their feet in stocks, they were placed in the darkness of the inner prison. But as the other prisoners sat listening, Paul and Silas begin to pray and sing.

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After the earthquake, and after the jailer had discovered that neither Paul nor Silas nor any of the other prisoners had escaped, he “fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’” (Acts 16:29-30, , NIV).

Why did this event cause the jailer to focus on his own need of salvation? What role do you think Paul’s and Silas’ prayers and songs played in the prisoners’ not running away, and in the conversion of this man and his whole family?

It is amazing to think that our praise can transform the eternal destinies of those around us. If Paul and Silas had sat in the dark mumbling and complaining as prisoners often do, do you think anyone would have been saved that night?

We don’t know what happened to the jailer and his family later on, but can you imagine them reading the words that Paul later wrote from another prison in Rome: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have” (Philippians 1:29-30, , NIV). If they did read this and reflected on how Paul’s suffering had brought them joy, it surely must have brought a song to their hearts and a fresh challenge to remain faithful, no matter the cost.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Praising the Lord might not be natural to us, even in good circumstances. Thus, how much more difficult to do it in bad ones? Yet, that is what we are called to do. Praise is something that we must practice until it changes from being an activity done at a particular time to an atmosphere in which we live. Praise shouldn’t so much be a specific act but a specific way of life itself.

Read Psalm 145:1-21. What are the reasons David gives for praising God? In what ways should the words of this psalm be your own?

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The great British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote a book called The Practice of Praise. It is based on verse 7 of today’s psalm. In this short verse, Spurgeon calls our attention to three important things that can help in developing praise in our lives.

1. Praise is practiced as we look around us. If we do not look around us to see the greatness of God, we will have no reason to praise Him. What can you see in the created world that is praiseworthy, such as the beauty of God’s creation? What can you see in the spiritual world that is praiseworthy, such as the growing faith in a young Christian?
2. Praise is practiced as we remember what we have seen. If we want to live in an atmosphere of praise, we must be able to recall the reason for it. In what ways can we remember the great things about God (such as by developing new rituals or symbols that remind us of His goodness), so that His goodness and the truth about Him does not slip from our minds?
3. Praise is practiced as we talk about it. Praise is not something that we do in our heads. It is meant to come out of our mouths, to be heard by those around us. What reasons can you think of to praise God verbally? What will the effect of such praise be, and on whom?

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Having scanned through the lesson quarterly, there are so many hymns from which to choose a theme. In effect, there is a commencing theme hymn which changes through the quarter to the finale theme hymn. To start with, we could use:
Hymn 552 – The Lord’s My Shepherd or 
Hymn 545 – Savior, Like a Shepherd.

Somewhere in the middle of the quarter one could change the theme and add in Hymn 159 – On a Hill Far Away which is where we complete our studies in Lesson 13.

Where does one stop with listing the hymns of praise that we have in our SDA Hymnal?

To start with, we have Hymn numbers:  
1 – Praise to the Lord,
4 – Praise My Soul the King of Heaven,
11 – The God of Abraham Praise,
14 – Let Us Praise the Name of the Lord,
20 – O Praise Ye the Lord,
25 – Praise the Lord, His Glories Show,
26 – Praise the Lord! You Heavens Adore Him,
28 – Praise We the Lord,
29 – Sing Praise to God,
30 – Holy God, We Praise Your Name,
37 – O Sing, My Soul, Your Maker’s Praise,
53 – All Praise to Thee,
70 – Praise Ye the Father,
105 – Sing to the Great Jehovah’s Praise,
106 – Give to Our God Immortal Praise,
145 – Songs of Thankfulness and Praise,
249 – Praise Him! Praise Him!,
323 – O for a Heart to Praise My God!,
548 – Now Praise the Hidden God of Love,
563 – Praise and Thanksgiving,
642 – We Praise Thee With Our Minds,
694 – Praise God, From Whom All Blessings, and
695 – Praise God, From Whom All Blessings.

Wow! And these hymns only have the word “Praise” in their titles with this list not including the hymns that have “Praise” written into the lyrics only.

Even in Paul’s atrocious imprisonment, he was able to say that he had 
Peace, Perfect Peace – Hymn 463 and a 
Wonderful Peace – 466. Paul then went on to state that we are to rejoice in all situations: 
Hymn 27 – Rejoice Ye Pure In Heart, 
Hymn 136 – Good Christians, Now Rejoice, 
Hymn 173 – Good Christian Friends Rejoice and 
Hymn 599 – Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers. The rejoicing is because of our faith:
Hymn 517 – My Faith Looks Up to Thee, 
Hymn 523 – My Faith Has Found a Resting Place and 
Hymn 533 – O For a Faith (that will not shrink).

It is on Wednesday that we are to be Paul and Silas and add singing to our praises. Again a long listing of amazing hymns for singing about singing:

Hymn 9 – Let All the World in Every Corner Sing,
Hymn 10 – Come, Christians Join to Sing,
Hymn 19 – O Sing a New Song to the Lord,
Hymn 29 – Sing Praise to God,
Hymn 33 – Sing A New Song to the Lord,
Hymn 37 – O Sing, My Soul, Your Maker’s Praise,
Hymn 63 – O Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord,
Hymn 88 – I Sing the Mighty Power of God,
Hymn 105 – Sing to the Great Jehovah’s Praise,
Hymn 167 – Alleluia Sing to Jesus,
Hymn 183 – I Will Sing of Jesus’ Love,
Hymn 228 – A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing,
Hymn 250 – O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,
Hymn 252 – Come, Let Us Sing,
Hymn 343 – I Will Sing of My Redeemer,
Hymn 467 – Life Is Great! So Sing About It.

Wednesday completes with the challenge 
O Brother, Be Faithful – Hymn 602.

Jahaziel was instructed (Thursday) to 
Stand Like the Brave – Hymn 610 so that we may now 
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus – Hymn 618.

On Friday we return to Sunday’s rejoicing:

Hymn 27 – Rejoice Ye Pure In Heart,
Hymn 136 – Good Christians, Now Rejoice,
Hymn 173 – Good Christian Friends Rejoice, and
Hymn 599 – Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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There’s an expression in English: “to be painted into a corner.” Imagine painting the floor of a room but then realizing that you have wound up in a corner and cannot get out — except by walking over the fresh paint. You have to stay there until it dries!

Sometimes our faith seems to paint us into a corner. We arrive at a situation, and, like the wet paint on the floor, our faith “traps” us. We look at the situation, and either we have to reject God, faith, and everything we have believed in, or our faith compels us to believe what appears impossible.

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God brought the Israelites to a corner. After they had wandered for 40 years in the wilderness, God did not lead His people to empty, peaceful grasslands. God led them to one of the most strongly fortified cities in the whole area. Then they had to walk around Jericho in silence for six days. On the seventh day God told them to shout — and that shouting, together with the trumpets, would bring victory.

Read Joshua 5:13-6:20. What is God trying to teach the Israelites?

Shouting loudly was not going to cause vibrations to trigger the walls to collapse. When God called the Israelites to “shout,” it was the same type of shouting that David writes about in Psalm 66: “Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!” (Psalm 66:1-2, , NIV). This shouting was praise! After six days of looking at the huge walls, they must have concluded that they hadn’t a chance of breaking them down themselves.

How does this idea help us understand the meaning of Hebrews 11:30?

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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The great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky had been sentenced to death, only to have the sentence commuted at the last moment. He spent years in prison instead. Talking about his prison experience, he wrote: “Believe to the end, even if all men go astray and you are left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and praise God in your loneliness.”

In these lessons we already have seen how Paul endured incredible opposition and persecution. But now he is sitting in a Roman prison. And yet he is not depressed; instead, he is eagerly writing to encourage the believers in Philippi!

Read Philippians 4:4-7. How do you think Paul could have written such things when he himself was sitting in a prison? In this passage, what are the keys to gaining the “peace of God”?

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It is one thing to rejoice when everything is going well. But Paul exhorts us to rejoice always. That may sound strange. If we take what Paul writes literally, there are two critical implications for us.

First, if we are to rejoice always, it must mean that we should be rejoicing even when circumstances do not appear to give any grounds for rejoicing. Second, if we are to rejoice always, it must also mean that we are going to have to learn to rejoice at times when we do not feel like it.

Paul is calling us to praise God even though many times it may seem quite unnatural to us. It may even seem unreasonable. But as we will see, it is precisely because there are times when it appears unreasonable that we are called to rejoice. In other words, praise is an act of faith. Just as faith is based not on our circumstances but rather on the truth about God, so praise is something we do not because we feel good but because of the truth of who God is and what He has promised us. And amazingly, it is such faith that begins to shape our thoughts, feelings, and circumstances.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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