Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 Psalm 148
Praise the LORD! (verse 1)
The human response to God is praise. It takes us from the mundane to the spiritual reality of life. Life as we experience it often motivates us to do anything but praise God. But when we sit still long enough to let our spirits be present, we can sense the gently bubbling spring of praise within us.
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines praise as an expression of warm approval or admiration, or to glorify or commend highly. In this psalm, everything from the heavens to the young are called upon to praise the Lord. Can you imagine what that would sound like? Quoting Psalm 100, “A joyful noise,” I’m sure.
Numerous are the times in the Old Testament when, in festivals, individual and liturgical responses, and in hymns such as Psalm 148, Israel is called to “Praise the LORD!”
Alleluia and Hallelujah mean, “Praise the Lord!” Sadly, it occurs so little in our worship-the anticipation of the reading of the gospel and maybe a few other places. There are times in worship when I am urged to a spontaneous, “Praise the Lord!” but my Lutheran reticence still holds me back.
Take time to listen to the murmuring of your soul and in response sing, “Praise the Lord!”
Lord, send me your Spirit to nurture my praise. Amen. — RH
Contributed by Praise
The human response to God is praise. It takes us from the mundane to the spiritual reality of life. Life as we experience it often motivates us to do anything but praise God. But when we sit still long enough to let our spirits be present, we can sense the gently bubbling spring of praise within us.
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines praise as an expression of warm approval or admiration, or to glorify or commend highly. In this psalm, everything from the heavens to the young are called upon to praise the Lord. Can you imagine what that would sound like? Quoting Psalm 100, "A joyful noise," I'm sure.
Numerous are the times in the Old Testament when, in festivals, individual and liturgical responses, and in hymns such as Psalm 148, Israel is called to "Praise the LORD!"
Alleluia and Hallelujah mean, "Praise the Lord!" Sadly, it occurs so little in our worship-the anticipation of the reading of the gospel and maybe a few other places. There are times in worship when I am urged to a spontaneous, "Praise the Lord!" but my Lutheran reticence still holds me back.
Take time to listen to the murmuring of your soul and in response sing, "Praise the Lord!"
