“But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3
Tehillah is a Hebrew word that means to sing a song or hymn, singing praise to someone who is being celebrated or praised. The word “psalm,” is tehillah. Psalms, the Bible book, is Tehillim, literally the Book of Praises containing songs or hymns, sung to the Lord.
In Psalm 22:3 it says that God is enthroned in the (tehillah) praises of His people. The Hebrew meaning behind the word used for “enthroned” means “to sit down, to remain, or marry.” In another version of the Bible the word “inhabit” is used. God inhabits the singing praise of His people. When we praise God with our hearts and our mouths, we experience the tangible presence of God.
I like tehillah in Psalm 106:12 (NIV), “Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.” When we believe God’s promises, we have joy and peace – so much joy and peace, that it causes us to sing His praise. Faith will tehillah; faith will sing praise. Our faith is a factor in a promise being fulfilled. This was true for the Israelites in II Chronicles 20. They had an enemy determined to overtake them in battle. God instructed Israel to begin praising Him, to believe in Him (verse 20). In verse 22 as they praised (tehillah), God’s power took out the enemy. Israel didn’t even have to fight! God fought for them as they sang their praise to Him, believing His promises.
We see the same principle at work in the New Testament. In Acts 16:16-34 we read about Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns to God while they were in prison. Their belief in God and in God’s promises caused them to want to sing praise to God. Their faith was seen in their celebration of who God was, and because of their praise, God’s power was manifested. There was a supernatural shaking of the earth so that the prison doors broke open and the chains were broke free. Breakthrough happens when our faith causes us to sing our praise!
Application: Psalm 33:1 says that “praise (tehillah) from the upright is beautiful.” You may not feel that you are perfect before God – none of us do. However, Jesus has given us right-standing before God because of our position before God. When you sing praise to the Lord, whatever your voice may sound like, God says that it is beautiful to Him.