Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
Whenever I go on holidays, I always look forward to finally arriving at the destination. And the longer the trip – the more I’m looking forward to arriving! We’ve been on a long journey through the Psalms, and the destination it has been taking us on is this one – “Praise the LORD”. In the Psalms, praise is the destination that we can’t wait to reach. A chorus of praise with all of God’s people, and with all creation. It’s the place we’re longing for, and hoping for, and crying out for.
Our world is full of praise. Lovers praising their beloved, fans praising their team, nature-lovers the countryside, readers their favourite book, move-goers the latest flick. We are creatures of praise, and we were created to praise. We all praise something. But there is no one who is more worthy of praise than our God. And why do we praise the LORD? The Psalm itself gives the reason why we praise, “Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.” (150:2)
As we look at this Psalm through the lens of Jesus, we see that we’ve got greater reason to praise than they did. Because they longed to see what we see. They trusted in God, and in his mighty acts of power, and in the hope that one day God would act once again. But we see God’s great act of power displayed at the glorious cross, and in the eternal reign of our risen king. Our natural response to God’s mighty acts is praise.
We truly have the greatest reason to praise. Praise expresses our delight in God, for all he has done. As C. S Lewis once said, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation”. Praise brings the completion of our joy, and we praise today anticipating the day that our joy will be made complete once and for all – in our heavenly home.
HEAD: What have you learnt about Jesus from Psalm 150? What have you learnt about yourself?
HEART: How do you feel knowing that you were created to praise the LORD? How does Jesus help you praise?
HANDS: What are the things today that are likely to distract you from praise, and take away your joy? What will turn your sorrow into joy?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I praise you for your surpassing greatness, and your mighty acts of power. Thank you that I have a reason to praise because of Jesus. I pray that you would help me to delight in praise. Please help me to do that today. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
Josiah
