Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6).
Imagine that.
Seriously
Take a moment, before you embark on your week, to imagine every living thing declaring its praise to God.
Every man
woman
child
animal
bird
fish
insect
Everything that draws breath will use that breath to exalt the One who created
sustained
loved
redeemed.
That’s some Hallelujah right there.
Happy Monday, Beloved.
…praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals (Psalm 150:5).
OK, oddest worship memory…
Many moons ago, I was part of a church that was rather…demonstrative in its worship. It was commonplace to see people raising hands, dancing, calling out in various versions of prayer languages. No snake handling, but up to that pretty much anything went. I was a little, shall we say, conservative in my personal worship style, but I appreciated the freedom of my brothers and sisters and had no problems with their praise.
Until Flag Lady showed up.
You heard me.
Flag
Lady
She had these pennants…shiny gold pennants. They may have been silk, but I don’t know for sure.
I just know that they hurt.
You see, each of her two pennants was about three feet long and was attached to a twelve-inch stick. Each tapered to a point, as pennants are wont to do. She would dance up and down the aisle of the church, spinning and twirling and leaping and smacking folks in the head with these flags.
You think I’m joking
but I have scars.
Have you ever seen an expert lion tamer in action? Maybe an old Indiana Jones film?
Well then.
Beloved, praise him loud and long and with everything you’ve got.
Just, you know, try not to leave a welt.
Happy Friday, Beloved
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute… (Psalm 150:3-4)
God is a music lover.
Now there’s all kinds of music, and all kinds of worship. Some of you go for the traditional, hymn-based-pipe-organ-eighteen-verse-four-part-harmony-gimme-my-choir-robe variety of worship.
Sweet
Some of you need a little head-banging-base-thumping-electric-guitar-screeching-shout-to-the-Lord-and-give-me-an-Advil-for-my-migraine kind of worship.
Cool
Some of you go for the nose flute and hand ocarina.
Probably not many, though.
Guess what? God likes it all. If it’s done with all your heart, and it’s done for his glory, it’s worship. It may not be my style, but it’s his.
Because, in the end, you are the instrument of praise.
Happy Thursday, Beloved.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness (Psalm 150:2).
Yesterday’s verse told us where to praise God–essentially everywhere. This verse tells us why to praise God.
He’s big.
Really big
And he does big things.
I apologize for getting all high-brow and exegetical on you, but we need to get the theology straight here.
God is greater than anything or anyone else you can think of.
Yes, even that.
And definitely them
He is Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.
His very nature makes him worthy of your praise
my praise
all praise.
But wait–there’s more! This God, this infinitely powerful, surpassingly awesome One,
knows you
loves you
calls you his own.
We have reason upon reason to praise his name.
Happy Wednesday, Beloved.
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens (Psalm 150:1).
I praised God in church on Sunday, so we could say I was in his sanctuary.
But aren’t we the temple of the Holy Spirit? Paul says so in 1 Corinthians. So, anywhere I praise him is his sanctuary, because I am his sanctuary.
We are his sanctuary.
Beloved, the Old Testament saints could only imagine what you and I take for granted.
So, maybe we should stop taking it for granted.
I can’t claim to have been to the heavens, but God is there, so if I praise him then I am praising him in his mighty heavens, yes? Besides, I will someday praise him from heaven, and God is not bound by time, so he already exists there, so he is experiencing me praising him in his mighty heavens.
I’m just not there yet.
Boy, you can say that about a lot of things.
Praise the Lord today, Beloved.
Right here,
Right now
Happy Tuesday.
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11).
You know where you’re going.
You know who awaits you.
What more do you need?
Isn’t it good to be beloved, Beloved?
Happy Saturday
…nor will you let your Holy One see decay (Psalm 16:10b).
So, is David talking about himself here, or is he talking about Jesus?
Yes
Does that help?
As the anointed king, David was certainly the Holy One, set apart for God.
And, you know, good for him.
But ultimately this verse is speaking of the Christ, the One who would bust Death in the chops and stride out of the tomb under his own power.
I wonder how much David knew. I wonder how much God shared with him about the One who would come to fulfill the reign David had begun.
Maybe we’ll get to ask him one day.
Probably not today though.
For today, walk in the knowledge that he who destroyed Death has chosen you to be his Beloved. Death cannot have you,
ever,
because you are already Christ’s. Whatever today may bring, it’s nothing that can separate you from the love of God.
Happy Friday, Beloved
…for you will not abandon me to the grave… (Psalm 16:10a).
Assuming Jesus does not return first, one day you will die. Your heart, lungs, synapses and phalanges will all cease to function, and you will slowly begin to decompose, unless you die in a warm and moist climate, in which case you will rapidly decompose, unless your family has you embalmed, in which case you will slowly shrivel over time, locked in the darkness of the earth as your spirit wanders for all eternity.
Happy Thursday, Beloved
Wait
That’s not true.
Oh, the part where you die might be true. And the part about your phalanges. But it won’t be for eternity.
And you won’t wander in darkness.
God has promised you an eternity with him.
That eternity includes light and life and being in the presence of God forever.
Beloved, I don’t know exactly what happens when you die. None of us does. But I know that in Christ death has no victory, no sting.
You will not be abandoned; you will be welcomed home.
Now, Happy Thursday, Beloved
…my body will also rest secure (Psalm 16:9b).
This is one of those lines that I can read in two ways.
When I read this in the context of the preceding verses, I think of the here and now. Because God is with me, I can relax. I can know peace. I can–or at least I should be able to–release the stress of this world that makes my stomach ache and keeps me awake at night. I can rest, secure in the knowledge that the Lord of the Universe is in control.
I like this.
I can also tie this line to the following verse, you will not abandon me to the grave. Now the line seems to be talking of death. When my time here is over, I will rest in peace, because the Lord of Everything will not forget me.
I like this, too.
Which reading is correct? Oh, Beloved, you know that I am not a theological scholar, and my trusty study Bible only gets me so far. My gut tells me that it means both of these, and more.
So very much more
God loves you, Beloved.
Rest secure.
Happy Wednesday
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices (Psalm 16:9a).
When was the last time you praised God outside of church?
Sometimes it’s not easy. I mean, if you start singing at the top of your voice in strange tongues and dancing with all your might wearing only a linen ephod while standing in the households section of WalMart, you may produce the wrong kind of reaction.
Then again, it is WalMart. You may get no reaction at all.
But there are other ways, Beloved. Make God part of your conversations with the world. Show the people around you that “your heart is glad” and make sure they know Who is responsible for your joy. Name-drop the Almighty as though you were talking about a real person who has done great things for you.
Because he is
And he has
Maybe the ephod stays home.
Maybe not…your call.
Happy Tuesday, Beloved.