Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
--Psalm 150:6 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on August 29, 2013 of Psalm 150; Luke 23:13-43; Job 16-18.
Psalm 150 serves as a glorious doxology to the Book of Psalms, this beautiful hymnal. Coming at the end - following psalms about wisdom, history, nature, and the Messiah, songs giving testimony to all God has done, asking for judgment over the wicked, sorrowing over sin, and crying out for help - the 150th does nothing but sing praises to our Lord. It asks nothing of God, seeks nothing from Him. It merely glorifies Him, lifts His name on high, pays homage to Him with all that is within us.
The psalmist opens with a call to praise the Lord in His sanctuary, in His mighty firmament, in heaven. This clearly establishes how much higher God is over man. No mere mortal structure could ever house Him. Even the vast expanse of heaven cannot fully contain Him for He is in and over all of creation. Nonetheless we lift our song of praise on high, directing our voices to heaven that He might better hear us. We glorify God because His acts are mighty and His greatness is excellent, beyond our poor ability to adequately describe. Our psalmist implores us to not only lift our voices in praise but also to raise a joyful noise with trumpet, lute, and harp, with timbrels and stringed instruments and flutes, with loud and clashing cymbals. Yet there is one more element our psalmist would have us add to the celebration of and to God. Along with our worshipful singing and loud rhythmic music playing, he would have us dance. David gave a wonderful example of glorifying God in every way possible - by singing, by playing music, even by letting the Spirit move our bodies as we worship the Lord.
And this brings us to the point of today's focus verse. Let everything that breathes praise God, man and animals, all of creation. Birds do a great job of this, lifting their beautiful song all through the day. But man is best suited, and has more reason, for this as we have more capabilities to express ourselves and our innermost thoughts and feelings. The rest of creation worships in its own unique way, but man has a variety of means at his disposal, each a gift from God. So we should praise Him in any and every way possible, and with every breath we take. Just as the 150th begins and ends with "Praise the Lord!", so should our day. From the moment we first open our eyes in the morning until we close them again at night we should be praising our Lord God and Savior Jesus, and with the emphasis that exclamation mark implies. Whether simply with words whispered silently from our heart or sung at the top of our lungs, whether by the music we play or whatever dance the Spirit leads us in, as long as we draw breath let us praise the Lord! Amen.
God in heaven, we lift our song of praise to You! We know that even our best efforts are meager and lowly compared to Your righteousness, but may they be pleasing, O Lord, to Your ears. May we never be ashamed to lift our praises to You in song, in music, or even in dance. With every breath we take, may we ever glorify You. In holy and glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
The psalmist opens with a call to praise the Lord in His sanctuary, in His mighty firmament, in heaven. This clearly establishes how much higher God is over man. No mere mortal structure could ever house Him. Even the vast expanse of heaven cannot fully contain Him for He is in and over all of creation. Nonetheless we lift our song of praise on high, directing our voices to heaven that He might better hear us. We glorify God because His acts are mighty and His greatness is excellent, beyond our poor ability to adequately describe. Our psalmist implores us to not only lift our voices in praise but also to raise a joyful noise with trumpet, lute, and harp, with timbrels and stringed instruments and flutes, with loud and clashing cymbals. Yet there is one more element our psalmist would have us add to the celebration of and to God. Along with our worshipful singing and loud rhythmic music playing, he would have us dance. David gave a wonderful example of glorifying God in every way possible - by singing, by playing music, even by letting the Spirit move our bodies as we worship the Lord.
And this brings us to the point of today's focus verse. Let everything that breathes praise God, man and animals, all of creation. Birds do a great job of this, lifting their beautiful song all through the day. But man is best suited, and has more reason, for this as we have more capabilities to express ourselves and our innermost thoughts and feelings. The rest of creation worships in its own unique way, but man has a variety of means at his disposal, each a gift from God. So we should praise Him in any and every way possible, and with every breath we take. Just as the 150th begins and ends with "Praise the Lord!", so should our day. From the moment we first open our eyes in the morning until we close them again at night we should be praising our Lord God and Savior Jesus, and with the emphasis that exclamation mark implies. Whether simply with words whispered silently from our heart or sung at the top of our lungs, whether by the music we play or whatever dance the Spirit leads us in, as long as we draw breath let us praise the Lord! Amen.
God in heaven, we lift our song of praise to You! We know that even our best efforts are meager and lowly compared to Your righteousness, but may they be pleasing, O Lord, to Your ears. May we never be ashamed to lift our praises to You in song, in music, or even in dance. With every breath we take, may we ever glorify You. In holy and glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
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