This piece was written for the new initiative 'The Journey of Encounter' which provides daily scripture reflections written by young adults across the world. You can find out more about about their mission and subscribe over at https://journeyofencounter.ca/
Psalm 150
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
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The joy is almost bursting out of these lines, as if the Psalm can hardly contain its excitement and delight in the Lord. You can almost visualise what we are being encouraged to do; this is a hands-in-the-air, heart-wide-open, shout-it-to-the-rooftops moment – a time to praise God with every fibre of our being for his unfailing and boundless love. We are being asked to praise Him with loud, exultant music, so that all around us may hear and know of His Greatness.
Yet the reality is, as I’m sure you don’t need reminding, that we’re living through 2020, and countries, communities, and families across the world are facing immense burdens and challenges. Just a brief glance at the daily headlines is enough to leave one feeling more than a little queasy about the global state of affairs. Terrorist attacks, typhoons, economic turmoil, and a health crisis that seems only to be worsening. Where are God’s mighty deeds? Where is His surpassing greatness? Why is God letting this happen to the ones we love? It’s no wonder we’re not running through the streets blasting our trumpets and clanging our cymbals.
Christians have been struggling and grappling with such questions about suffering for centuries, and they certainly won’t disappear overnight either. It’s important to acknowledge suffering; to comfort those who are grieving, to extend our love and compassion to those who are hurt and wounded, and to stand by our friends when it feels like everything is collapsing in on them. But as this Psalm reminds us, as Christians we are also called to praise the Lord. To keep our eyes fixed on what is constant and steadfast; the Way, the Truth and the Life. Perhaps now more than ever we are being called to draw our strength from Him, to find time to worship and to praise Him amidst the whirling seas of the world around us.
Gratefulness has become rather the millennial buzzword recently, with gratefulness journals and TED talks urging us to change our outlook on life by regularly noting down those things which spark joy. This Psalm commands us to go one step further - to acknowledge the source of our joy; to praise the one who created us, the one who loves us so deeply that He humbled himself and died on a cross for us.
A friend recently encouraged me to try starting my prayers by giving thanks and praising the Lord, rather than immediately unleashing my torrent of prayer requests. Slowly repeating simple sentences along the lines of ‘Lord, you are mighty’ and ‘Lord, I give you thanks’, brings one right back to the Truth; we are loved by a Lord who deserves every breath of our praise.