Forever (Psalm 150)

 

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath give praise to the Lord. 

has no argument. There is no pleading for help. It is only a calling for all creation to give God his rightly due praise. Everything that has breath. All people. All creatures. Everyone. Forever we should praise him, because forever he is faithful. 

Here is the song that popped in my head as I read Psalm 150.  It is fitting for today as we finish Psalms. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uSM96OA39ic

Let’s dance! (Psalm 149)

 

Psalm 149:3 Let them praise his name in festive dance, make music with tambourine and lyre. 

God is our creator. We must acknowledge that. He gave us the breath we breathe. We must praise him for that. And what is the easiest way to praise? Sing, make music, dance! It is so easy to get caught up in our own self, that we might feel embarrassed to be caught singing or dancing for God. Have you ever been to a religious event and seen them praising God with dance? People out in the aisles dancing, and you thought “I would never do that!” A good question is why not. God loves it when we let go of our restraints, and be free with our heart and soul in praise. 

I may have spoken on this before, but when I was in high school, our church group would attend a convention called Steubenville South. The original Steubenville was up north, ours was in Alexandria, Louisiana. It was a large gathering of different Catholic groups, and we praised God in song for a large part of the event. There were also learning and group classes during the convention. But we praised his name. And it felt so wonderful to sing in a large convention room with thousands of other people. The sound we made just sent shivers in your soul. When we left, we were all on cloud 9, feeling on top of the world. I remember someone saying when we returned, as we were all still singing and praising, welcome back to the real world. And I remember feeling so sad in an instant because yes, in our “real world” we don’t sing and praise like that. Even in our church, group of students would sing the hymns together loudly, but the rest of the congregation didn’t really participate. And the cloud 9 feeling eventually wore off. 

I am reminded of this feeling when I am in the car with my kids, and we are listening to the radio (we listen to KLove) and a song they know the words too comes on, they ask to put the radio louder, and we all sing loudly. We should always want to praise his name loudly with song, music and dance, regardless of what other think. Maybe our joy will spread and be catching. Goodness knows people’s gloominess certainly does. 

Let us be glad in our maker. 

We are all summoned (Psalm 148)

 

Psalm 148:13 Let them all praise The Lord’s name, for his name alone is exalted, majestic above earth and heaven. 

This chapter is calling all things to praise God. All people, all of  nature, all of the heavens, everything. “‘For the Lord commanded and they were created” verse 5 tells us so much about this planet: if the Lord didn’t want it, he wouldn’t have made it. He commanded the earth be made, he commanded the light be separated from darkness, he commanded the water and land be separated. He made the animals and plants. He made man and woman. And so in thanksgiving of being created, all the things he made should praise him. 

Calling upon the angels, the sun, moon, and stars, the heavens and the waters to praise God reminds us that there is not other god but ours. If these great powers all praise our God, there is nothing higher than he, and he is the only one who deserves our praise. This is the same as verses 11 & 12 calling the kings, princes, all who govern, women, men, children, young and old alike, to praise God; there is no earthly person higher than God. We were created in his image, and we should praise him for it. All of us. We are all his people. Every nation, every tongue, every social class. 

Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father. 

Feeling like an outcast (Psalm 147)

 

Psalm 147:2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, gathers the outcasts of Israel. 

Have you ever felt like an outcast? Like you didn’t fit in or didn’t belong? Whether because of financial lack, depression, or sickness? Has a disagreement at work set you apart from others? Have you ever felt like a backslider from the church, maybe because of wickedness you have done? There are so many reasons someone may see themselves as an outcast. 

I have been in a few of these situations. I have felt like a backslider for church, when I became pregnant before I was married. I felt like everyone could see the sin I had made, and that I was hypocritical for even going to Mass. Though I felt a saving grace by wearing my engagement ring as we were planning our wedding at that time. This outcast feeling was personal judgement. I never heard anyone in my church mention comments. It was inner turmoil that brought it on, because I know I had done wrong. I do know people back home did, but I didn’t live in my small hometown at that point. 

I have been on the “other side” at work from my colleagues, even though the side I was on defended work ethics and morality. It wasn’t fun being on the outside thought process, having my colleagues (who I thought were friends) ignore me or talk about me behind my back. I mean we all know “behind my back” never really stays behind. Someone always tells the wrong person, and it gets back to the accused. Which made me feel more outcast. 

All this to say, that in both issues, I finally let go of the situation and gave it to God. He heals the broken hearted. He heals the broken spirited. He gave us his only son, who died on the cross for us to forgive our sins. If God numbered the stars, and knew them by name (verse 4), he certainly knew me. In the first issue, I learned to forgive myself, though I will admit it took many, many years. But now I have a beautiful 10 year old daughter who is growing into a magnificent young lady. In the second, I learned that if I was defended work ethic that God instilled in me, then I was defending God’s work. I was fighting his fight. And if that meant I was an outcast or outsider, than so be it. 

If you are hurting because you feel like an outcast, remember the Lord loves you and wants to heal you. Let him in your heart. You are one of his stars. 

Are you really free (Psalm 146)

 

It was hard to choose one verse in this chapter. Overall, the chapter reminds us that there is no other source of strength besides that of God. Verse 3 says to put no trust in princes, in mere mortals powerless to save. No matter their money or planning, princes, kings, governors, they are all mere mortals and can’t offer the saving grace that God can. Verse 4 reminds us of that mortality: they return to the earth. All their planning and plotting will come to nothing if they don’t have God in their hearts. 

Sure, planning and leaving an estate for someone might help them out of poverty or oppression for a while. But they can’t take that money with them. Instead of focusing on strength and power that only lasts while on earth, we should focus on teaching others the word of God. It is faith that can secure justice, and feed the hungry. It is faith that sets prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind. You can say, “a well paid lawyer can set a prisoner free. Or an expensive treatment might help someone to see.” But are they really free? And can they really see? God is the only one who can free our soul and help us see his word.  

At the beginning of the chapter, we once again see “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, my soul,” and this reminds us that we should praise him everyday. It doesn’t have to be the same blessing every time, as that might become more obligation than desire to thank him. It should be more like a 5 year old giving blessing before a meal, where you never really know what all becomes part of the blessing. When I feel prayers becoming too routine, I shake them up. Try praying in a different part of the house. Try having a candle lit or music in the background. Our mercies are new each day, as should our praise be.  Don’t let yourself start to feel redundant and then fall off of praising God. Just sing a new song.

Compassion for all (Psalm 145)

Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love. 

In 1 Corinthians 13, we read "love is patient, love is kind...it is not quick tempered...it endures all things." So love is patient, forgiving, gracious, and merciful. It is not quick tempered and slow to anger. In other words, God IS love. The greatest commandment is to love. And if love is God, then our call to love is a call to act more like the love God shows. 

It is so easy to have a quick temper at something we read or see that we do not agree with. It is so easy to become pompous and see ourselves as better than others in certain situations. It is so easy to become arrogant and rejoice at others misgivings and failures. Why is it so easy to do these things, and not easy to love? 

Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all, compassionate to every creature. 

God spreads his goodness to all creatures, to all humanity. Not just those originally chosen to receive his gifts, but all who seek him. If God can show compassion to everyone, why can't I? If I want to love like God, I need to open my heart to all his creation. I need to see the world as he sees it. I need to listen and feel. I need to stop stuffing myself in a safe box to hide from people who don't see things the same as I do. 

Lord, I want to love like you do. I want to be gracious and merciful. Open my heart to accept those who aren't the same as me. Blessed be your holy name and grace. 

Training for battle (Psalm 144)

Psalm 144:1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle. 

Without training, it wouldn't matter what tools we have in our hands. They wouldn't be successful. You can't just give someone a football and expect them to get VIP. Neither can you hand someone a sword expect greatness without training them. Untrained force can actually be a danger to the person wielding the weapon.  

David was a well trained warrior. He killed many in hand-to-hand combat. His hands were trained for that battle. More importantly,  God trained him with the sword of the spirit ("And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:17). Just like any other training, handing someone a Bible doesn't make them an expert. It takes years of training and studying before they can begin to understand God's word. The same as before, an untrained person with a Bible can actually do more harm than good. 

I pray that you Lord continue to train my hands for your battle. Help wield me in your defense, to fight against the evils of this life.