“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” (Psalms 22:3 KJV)
“…inhabitest…” or literally “dwell”, but dwell where? In mere words? In generated text or songs? When you think of “praise” or “praises” you are literally lauding someone, i.e. singling them out for recognition of some kind. You do this to be clear (publicly clear) about some attribute that they have that is well worth recognizing. So, to throw mere words at someone has the opposite effect. It enhances the ceremony of what is being done such that it sounds very official, but it actually cheapens the content of what is being said. What is being said is not heartfelt. It has no real belief in it. The spirit behind what is being said is empty and either in it for the feel of the presentation or is eager to say things that are not yet known through actual experience. You can easily tell the difference between someone who has honestly walked alongside this person through thick and thin and someone who is just saying something that is word filler.
It is important to recognize this difference especially when speaking about God. Not only will He not be mocked, but can you imagine flight instructions from someone who has never flown a plane? Or surgery instructions from someone who has never even been to medical school? To disconnect the reality involved is disastrous. God is more real. Not less. Granted, false “gods” are less. There is one God that is real and the Bible is full of witnesses about Him. Our spirit witnesses His residence in us. Our praises need not be generated. They are real testimonies reflecting aspects of our walk with Him. Definitely, praise the Lord! Even praise him loudly and with musical instruments! Yet, praise with a heart that reflects what you know. Not only is He listening and able to filter out the chaff; our own heart knows what is true.
“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20 KJV)