Where’s Your Praise House
The African American man in the picture is standing in front of a “praise house.” Sometimes called “prayer houses,” praise houses were prevalent on South Carolina plantations during the antebellum period. During this time, in opposition to their slave master’s preferred method and practicing an oppressive form of the Christian religion, slaves developed their means of worshiping God. They built praise houses and used them for worship during weeknights rather than on Sunday mornings. On Sunday mornings, slave masters required slaves to attend white-populated churches and listen to sermons that used biblical texts to encourage slavery.
Furthermore, slaves built praise houses without emphasizing a liturgical style of religious worship and excluded items such as altars, kneelers, pulpits, and sometimes even chairs and pews. They preferred the open space to provide more room for praying and praising God. The presence of praise houses in South Carolina suggests that the oppressors failed to make the plantation a completely closed system. Ironically, through the horrid conditions of slavery, prayer and praise provided strength and sustainability to the slave community. In their struggle to endure inhuman treatment, slaves maintained their humanity by building and utilizing praise houses.
As I read about “praise houses,” I thought about King David and his ability to turn a cave into a praise house. Some commentators propose 1 Samuel 22:1 as the background to Psalm 34. Running from King Saul, David had to hide in a cave for his safety. While waiting there in the cave, I imagine David picked up his harp and converted the cave into a praise house and echoed the words to Psalm 34 when he says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (v. 1). In David’s condition, he should have written words like “Trouble is in my way, and I have to cry sometimes.” He should have written something like, “I’m coming up the rough side of the mountain.” He should have written something like, “I’ve been in the storm too long.” Instead, he writes, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (v. 1). David could have chosen to complain about his predicament, but he chose to turn a cave into a praise house. By doing so, David teaches us some valuable lessons about praising God.
What David shows us in Psalm 34:1-3 is relevant because all of us will find ourselves in a cave, and we will need to know how to turn a cave into a praise house. Thus, the relevant question that we must ask is how do we turn a cave into a praise house? What will it take for us to focus on praising God instead of complaining to God in a moment when things are not going well in our lives? How do we focus on praise when our circumstances suggest that we should focus on our problems?
In Psalm 34:1-3, David teaches us that to convert a cave into a praise house, we must do at least three things.
First, our praise must be continuous. In Psalm 34:1, David says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” David teaches us that our praise should never be sporadic. As a regular worshipper, David knew that God desires continuous worship no matter our circumstances. Whenever we view our praise of God as a necessity, we will seize upon every opportunity to worship the Lord God. David also teaches us that we should never regulate or limit praise to our hearts. In his testimony, David says, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Some Christians are quick to say, “You know I praise God in my heart.” Praise should begin in the heart, but it should also overflow to our mouths as we praise the living God. Whenever we vow to praise God continually and allow praise to flow from our hearts to our mouths, we can turn a cave into a praise house.
Second, our praise must be confessional. In (v. 2), David says, “My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.” David had a long list of things for which to boast and brag. He already killed a bear and a lion while tending his father’s sheep (1 Sam. 17:34). He was already an accomplished musician. He played the harp so well that it soothed King Saul’s troubled soul (1 Sam. 16:23). He had already slain the giant Goliath (1 Sam. 18:50). David could have boasted and bragged about himself. Instead, he chose to boast and brag about the Lord God through continuous praise. Whenever we follow in David’s footsteps, we will not take credit for where we are in life. However, we will focus on what God has done as we boast and brag about God working in our lives. When our praise is confessional, we can turn a cave into a praise house.
Third, our praise must be congregational. In (v. 3), David says, “Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” By the time David gets to (v. 3), he has come a long way. He starts by saying, “I will bless the Lord at all times….” By the time he arrives at (v. 3), his praise becomes inclusive. In other words, David resolved that God is too great for me to praise Him by myself. We should have the same perspective that David does. Whenever we view our praise as congregational and worthy of a collective effort, we can turn a cave into a praise house where we join others in praising the name of the living God.
For those who have never tried offering God praise, I invite you to experience God and all of His goodness. In Psalm 34:8, David says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good….” I am a living witness that if you experience God and His goodness, the proper response will be to praise the name of the living God by turning your cave into a praise house. God desires for us to turn our caves into praise houses. Where is your praise house?