Psalm 150

Psalm 150

"Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his exceeding greatness!

"Praise him with trumpet soundl

praise him with lute and harp!

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!"

I was reading this Psalm this morning and I love heart behind it. David's basically saying the same thing in every single line but in different ways and with different words. And isn't that how we talk when we are caught up in the paroxysm of captivation by something wonderful? We spew out words with with a controlled, passionate, intentness. I also think it's possible to read this psalm and be estranged from it by its' natural foreignness. I don't have a trumpet or a lute or a harp or strings or a pipe or cymbals so I can't relate relate to this expression of praise.

This is not so foreign as I think though. I was reading in 1 Kings 1 where Solomon is anointed king and it gives a picture of people in Israel doing something similar to Psalm 150. David is in his old age and people are plotting to make Adonijah king since David hasn't declared his successor. Bathsheba and Nathan go to David, asking him to be true to his promise to make Bathsheba's son Solomon king. David gives them instructions and this is what follows:

"So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoida [one of David's greatest warriors], and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David's mule and brought him to Gihon. There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!" And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise." 1 Kings 1:38-40

The earth was split by their noise. I like to literally imagine things as I read them and this was crazy to imagine. I thought about how what's happening with this celebration at Solomon's coronation is so similar to what I read in Psalm 150. What is significant to me was that this type of praise with pipes and rejoicing was the natural expression of the people in that culture. So you can read Psalm 150 and says, "This is unrelatable and it just makes me feel a weird guilt because I don't have a pipe or cymbal and no one would understand if I went rejoicing through the streets with my cymbal." Exactly. But the people in Israel's streets understood perfectly what was happening. This is what their natural expression was. It was the first thing they thought to do. It was their impulse. They rejoiced in their new king the best way they knew how. So what makes Psalm 150 so wonderful to read is the heart behind it and the imagination it sparks for its' readers in every culture in the world. The question I am left with is this: What is the natural outpouring and expression of a heart of praise in my culture? What is perfectly understood by people in our culture as an expression of praise? When you consider the wonderfulness of God is all his beautiful reality, what is the natural thing that you want to do? Do that. Of all the so-called "spiritual disciplines" which often have a soporific effect, it is interesting that Satan works to make rejoicing even more neglected than prayer.

And God really is a living and beautiful reality. If you don't see this, then all you have to do is look around. Look at the wonder of what he formed with his hands. The wind blows through the trees. Sinews and muscles move at a thought. Words of love pierce to the soul and fan its' flame so that at times it soars. Psalm 150 is not foreign. It is living and beautiful. When Paul says that scripture is living and active, most of us soften the meaning because we have heard it said so many times. But repetition does not in reality diminish the truth of something. It remains as true as ever. In fact, in every single case, the words God uses to communicate to us have more meaning lodged inside of them than we have the ability to grasp. This is the case every single time. The lack is on our part. And so we must use every cylinder and horsepower of our imaginative capability in order to grasp every living and beautiful facet of words that come straight from the heart of the Father who is a greater reflection even the best human father we could imagine. The problem is never that God's words are boring or unrelatable. In my life, I find that it is rather my imagination that is lacking and like a weak muscle, unexercised. The wings of imagination that are exercised daily in strength and agility will fly higher and see more. And the sky that is our wonderful Maker and Father is limitless in its expanse.

Psalm 148

"Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens,

praise him in the heights!

Praise him, all his angels;

praise him all his hosts!

"Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

Praise him you highest heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!"