Psalms in Hebrew means Praise Songs. Each psalm transports us out of our earthly despond to the heights of praise, the fitting way to come into the presence of Almighty God.
It is always right to give Him thanks and praise”
Anglican Service of Holy Communion
Psalm 150 summarises the tone of the previous psalms in a clear triumphant finale, a crescendo of crashing majesty.
I love the noise, the variety. The psalmist exhorts us to use every sense and fibre of our being to praise God. Look up to the sky, the heavens where God dwells, reflect on the mighty deeds of our Almighty God, think of His greatness. Blast on brass, tinkle tambourines, strum strings, clang cymbals, tootle pipes! And if we can’t play an instrument let’s breathe and voice our praise. It’s intoxicating.
Praise is a wonderful outpouring of our hearts. The great news is that God knows how we feel and even if we squawk out of tune, or can’t clap in time or even speak eloquently, the Lord wants to hear our heartfelt response to Him.
The encouraging thing about Biblical examples is that although they seem so eloquent and excellent often they were actually far from it. Moses couldn’t speak properly, David was an adulterer, Elijah a manic depressive, Rahab a harlot and Paul a powerful persecutor of the Christians. Yet they were all set free to serve God and ultimately be mightily used by Him and their works and writings are full of His praise.
So let us not be overcome by our own misgivings, failures, weaknesses and doubts but be overcomers. As we focus on the attributes and works of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as creator, redeemer, friend and comforter we can be set free to praise His name.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (New Revised Standard Version NRSV)
The Apostle Paul exhorts equally the continual habit of Praise, and Thanksgiving. Praise is often described as giving God His Worth – worshipping Who He is: whilst thanksgiving is thanking Him for what He does and the gifts He gives.
Let’s be aware of both. It is out of His great love (who He is) that He showers His blessings (what He does) on us.
“One prisoner could only see the bars
Another looked through and enjoyed the stars”.
When tough situations occur and bad things happen, we do weep ourselves and with those who weep. We also know we have One who sympathises with our weaknesses and understands our human frailty (Hebrews 4:15). The Lord Jesus is alongside us always.
It is my observation that everyone is as happy as he chooses to be”.
Abraham Lincoln
But let’s remember that God is honoured by our praise and thanksgiving. We can proactively look for something good to be thankful for and seek good things. As we do, this decision in our mind will release our hearts to respond with praise. Let us not fall into the habit of cynical criticism which is the prevalent feature of our culture.