The Psalms: Psalm 150

 Some of the favorite hymns of the faith are songs of praise to God. We’ve lifted up a few in our call to worship this day, but there are hundreds of hymns that contain the word “praise” in them. And that praise is always directed to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. 

The Psalmist who penned 150 knew something about pure praise of God. I say pure, because he had no other intention but to lift up God’s name. Think back over the last several weeks as we have unpacked the Psalms together. Even the Psalms of praise often talked about God defeating enemies, bringing vindication, or offering judgment. But here we find a Psalm that praises God for who he is, not what he has done.

In many ways it may seem hard to separate those two things in our minds - for God’s actions flow out of his character. But if we think that God is nothing more than what he does for us, then we start to reduce God to One who exists to answer our wish lists - which is not true at all.

So who is God? And why do we praise him?

God is the Creator. The truth is that at times like to act that we are the ultimate creators as human beings, but we just need to go back to the beginning of the Bible to remember that God is the one who created us. In fact God created everything - the seas and the skies. The sun and the moon and the stars. All of the animals and plants we could call to mind. And then as a final act, God took the dust of the ground and breathed life into it - the very breath of God and human beings came to life.

On Wednesdays, I join with a group of sisters to read the Psalms and pray. To begin our together we always have the reminder that the words of breath in both Hebrew and Greek in our Scriptures - ruach and nooma, actually mean Spirit. The Spirit of God is what blessed us with the breath of life and each day that we draw breath in our lungs we can praise our Lord.

But God didn’t stop there. As we are reminded each month during our communion liturgy, we as human beings messed up. We choose our own way of sin and destruction over and above the path of God and as a result we broke relationship with God. But God did not give up on us - instead God kept trying to call us back home. Back to the way of life. God offered guidance and wisdom through the Holy Spirit’s leading. Mercy and salvation through Jesus Christ when even the words of the prophets failed to capture the attention of our hearts. Grace, and compassion and care in times of trouble. And the abiding presence of our Savior through every day of life. 

God is as near as our breath and beat of our heart.

There is more to praise God for than we could ever capture with our words. So why then do we praise God? For the Psalmist the words jump out of him for joy - and they are self-explanatory. We praise God because God is God. And that is enough of a reason. Everything else is a blessing to us!

And the praise of God isn’t limited by us or what we are going through or where we may find ourselves in any given moment. Praise God in his holy temple the Psalmist declares and in the mighty heavens. So where are we to praise God? Anywhere and everywhere. Praise him in the house of God. Praise him where two or three of us gather. Praise him around the dinner table and in the car. Praise him at the desk and in the yard. Praise God!

Praise him because of his mighty deeds and because he is greater than anyone own anything else. Remember, friends, that this is the final of 150 hymns or Psalms that became the songs of ancient Israel. These are the prayers that Jesus would have prayed in the temple and in his home. Because it is the last one it is calling all who declare it to remember God’s mighty deeds testified throughout the rest of the Psalms and scripture. How he brought his people out of captivity and into the promise land. How he sent the prophets to offer guidance. How he made a way through the flames and fire. It’s not just about praising God for what God has done in your life, though that alone is great, but for the magnitude of what God has done throughout scripture. 

God is worthy of incomparable praise because God has shown us love and mercy through incomparable things. Even on your worst of worst days brothers and sisters, you are still loved as a child of God and can offer up a song of praise. 

And really that is what this closing hymn is - an invitation to praise God again and again and again and to let his praise be in our hearts and on our lips. In fact, praising God was how ancient Israel told both of God’s faithfulness towards them and expressed their faithfulness to God.

Every day, I pray through some of the Psalms. Sometimes with other people. Sometimes on my own. But this is one of those Psalms that comes up every single day. Recently, I was talking with another one of these Psalm-prayers and she noted that we lose something if we don’t return to the prayers of Jesus. But we also lose something if we can’t figure out how to speak their truth in language that connects with hearts and lives today.

For the Israelites, this was the language that they were familiar with. The ancient language that defined them and their relationship with a holy God. But what does that look like for us today? What is our language of faith and our daily experience?

Now let me be very clear here - I want you to think about this because it speaks to how you connect with God and possibly God is laying it on your heart in order to invite someone else in to praise through this language. But we do not use our langue of praise to control other people. Rather I want you to think about what language and behavior that we have around praising God that may stand as a testimony to other people.

Take a moment and close your eyes. If I say the word “praise” what comes to your mind? What image do you have of praising God? For some it may be shouting for joy or lifting holy hands. Singing praise songs or the hymns of the faith. 

And those are all valid and true, my friends.

For when we praise, we come and set aside ourselves in order to just express our love for God. This Psalm in particular is such a wonderful example of praising God because it asks nothing of God. It is just coming before God and praising God out of adoration.

I remember the first time I was led to lift holy hands. I was just so moved by the spirit while singing a praise chorus at college, I couldn’t help it. I just wanted my body to express what I was feeling in my heart. I have other colleagues who praise God by taking their shoes off in the sanctuary, as its the house of God. There are others that dance or sway or play the Tamborine. 

Friends, how we praise God isn’t about what other people will think about our praise, its simply about responding to God’s grace and goodness in our lives in whatever way the Spirit moves us. And worship, true worship that comes from the heart, friends that is pleasing to God.

So how is God inviting you to worship through this Psalm? And what do you need to let go of our set aside in order to be attentive to praising God alone? Let us be the people of praise, my friends. Alleulia! Amen.