When God Inhabits the Praise of His People...

The importance of praising God is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Praising God means telling or otherwise expressing how wonderful and great we believe God is and how much we love Him.

You might have heard the phrase before, possibly as an encouragement for active, expressive worship in church: “God inhabits the praise of His people.” It’s sometimes said as a way to inspire people to sing to the Lord, loud and proud.

But the phrase is confusing for many—what does it mean that God “inhabits” His people’s praise, and how should that impact my relationship with God and the way I approach worship?

What Does it Mean That God Inhabits the Praise of His People?

The phrase, “God inhabits the praise of His people,” comes from the King James Version of Psalm 22:3, which states of God, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Other translations say, “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises” (NIV) or “God, you are the Holy One. You sit as King upon the praises of Israel” (ERV).

The actual Hebrew uses the word qadosh, an adjective for God that Strong’s Concordance says means holy or sacred, and the verb yashab, which means to sit, remain, or dwell. Yashab is the same word used in Genesis 4:20, where the Bible talks about a man named Jabal who is the father of those who dwell in—or inhabit, live within—tents and have livestock.

“Praises” comes from the Hebrew tehillah, which means praise or song of praise.

Translations using the word “enthroned” or “sit” draw from the same concept—where a man would sit, as upon a king’s throne or at the place of honor at a table—is akin to a dwelling place, a place of rest. So then, the phrase means God inhabits—rests in, sits upon, dwells within—His people’s songs of worship and adoration.

The word “inhabits” is not suggesting God is only present when people are singing praises about Him. Obviously, God is not confined to one place. As the Creator of the universe, the world, and all the people and things within it, God has no bounds. But what the writer of the psalm seems to be saying is that God is present and glorified when His people lift His name in honor. God enjoys it—perhaps it brings Him peace and rest. He draws nearer to us when we praise Him.