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Stones Cry Out

Will stones cry out if we don't rejoice and praise God? Jesus told the Pharisees, that would immediately happen if He commanded the multitude of disciples to stop rejoicing and praising Him:

And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19:37-40).

It is as if Jesus was saying creation will cry out in despair if His followers don't praise Him.

Does Jesus Need Praise?

Scripture tells us that He is not in need of anything:

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (Acts 17:24-25).

Makes sense, right? Why would God need us? We definitely need Him though! Everything Jesus commands us to do is not for His benefit, but for our benefit. No matter how much we cry out in worship, praise and thanks we can't make Him any bigger or better than He is already. But every time we do though, we draw closer to Him, causing Him to draw closer to us (James 4:8 NKJV), and we know that He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), and that His presence will bring the fullness of joy to our lives (Psalm 16:11).

We are created to praise Him (Psalm 33:1-4) because we are created for His glory, not ours (Isaiah 43:7). Here are other scriptures that enlighten us about why, how and when to praise God:

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3).

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name (Hebrews 13:15).

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34.1).

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV).

Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein (Psalm 69:34).

And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.” (Romans 15:11 ESV).

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments (Psalm 112:1).

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:11).

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us (Psalms 67:5-6).

Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great (Revelation 19:5 NKJV).

But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. (Psalm 71:14-15 ESV).

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord (Psalm 150:1-6).

Do We Want the Stones to Cry Out?

Jesus does not want us to praise Him with our silence or rejoice in silence. Just think a minute about how many people you know that even use the greeting "Praise the Lord" or "Hallelujah", never mind opening their mouths and praising our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not many, if any, right?

To praise Jesus, we need to open our mouths, use are lips. We don't want to listen to people who tell us to be quiet when we rejoice, when we worship and praise the Lord. That is exactly what the Pharisees wanted Jesus to do, have His followers be silent in their praise. If we want the stones to cry out, that is what we would do, be silent. But instead, we want to do what Jesus wants us to do, perfect praise with our mouths:

And said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, Yes. Have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise (Matthew 21:16 NKJV)?

Yes, let's open our mouth today and praise Him!