Showing posts with label Psalm 150. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 150. Show all posts
Monday, December 30, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1281
¶Second Sunday After Christmas
¶January 5, 2024
¶Psalm 150
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+150&version=NRSVUE
(NRSVUE)
¶I grew up surrounded by music. My father had an appreciation for music even though he did not play an instrument. My mother played violin, piano, and sang. Each of my brothers, and me, played in a school band, and most of us played multiple instruments not usually included in school band. We also had years of singing in choirs and other singing groups. Making music, participating in the art and craft of music was, and continues to be, a part of life for us. My wife and children also have music training and experience.
¶The psalmist calls us to use our instruments to praise God. There is no mention of quality, as much as variety. If it makes a noise it can be used to praise God. It also seems that the emphasis is on the praise rather than on the skill of the musician. “Let everything that breathes paise the LORD!,” includes humans, and beyond, in offering our praise. Our various instruments as well as the chirps, howls, barks, purrs, squeals, and screams of other creatures are called into service for the praise of God.
¶It seems that when we put ourselves in an attitude of praise we more readily hear the praise from those around us. Sounds that are annoying, frightening, or otherwise unsettling can take on a different emotional tone when we are tuned to praise. It is still important to be aware of the creature making those sounds, just in case it is not in a praise mood at the time. When we look for reasons and ways to praise, we move closer to the way of God in our lives.
¶December 30, 2024
¶LCM
Monday, February 7, 2022
Psalm Meditation 1130
¶Sixth Sunday After Epiphany
¶February 13, 2022
¶Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)
¶I was taught that the difference between praise and thanksgiving is the difference between being and action. We praise someone for who they are and thank them for what they have done. I have discovered that we don’t always use the words according to this definition. We praise pets and children for their accomplishments and thank them for actions. The psalmist asks us to praise God for being God as well as for mighty deeds. The important part is to praise God.
¶Some of us may be tempted to gather up all the instruments and activities and attempt to do them all at once as our act of praise. It may even be possible. Here it is important to remember that the psalmist did not have individuals in mind as this psalm was being written. The psalms were primarily written for the worshipping community. We are each free to choose the instrument with which we are most comfortable.
¶Remember the Sunday School rhythm sets of tambourines, maracas, blocks, and triangles? You could take your favorite if you were first in line, or whatever was left as the line and choices thinned out. While we may not get our favorite instrument, we were still able to make a joyful noise of praise as we marched around the room, or sat in our rows. At that age, our interest and intent was to make the most or the best noise/sound on our instrument. As we age and mature we become more intent on praising God. We may or may not get better with our instrument, but our praise deepens and broadens as we experience the presence of God in our lives. “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
¶February 7, 2022
¶LCM
Monday, March 25, 2019
Psalm Meditation 980
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 31, 2019
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
I have been known to skip to the end of a book, to read the last page or so, to see how the whole thing wraps up. Gratefully, it has never ruined a book for me to know how it ends. I rarely do it any more, however I do not fault anyone who reads the end of a book out of sequence. It can add to the interest as those of us who do this get to consider how the events on a given page move us to the end we know is coming. And yes, I can feel the disapproval of several friends and family as they discover this about me. The end of a book can serve to launch the readers into reality with new tools and insights, no matter when and how often that end is read.
This is the end of the Book of Psalms. It ends with a note of praise. The word praise is used thirteen times in six verses. For those who want to know what is important now that this book is at an end, the psalmist encourages us to praise the LORD. Are you having an excellent day? Praise the LORD. Are you having a bad day? Find a reason to praise the LORD. Are you being judged because you disagree with people around you? Praise the LORD because you have been given the ability to think for yourself. Is your life falling apart at the seams, ripping apart in the middle, wearing out at the stress points like a favorite shirt? Praise the LORD that you are not alone, that you are surrounded by people who love you, and that you are held in the loving arms of God.
As we look for reasons to praise we find our hearts and lives lifted to a new appreciation of the good that is present all around us. As we praise the LORD, we make new connections, new links in body mind and spirit, about how God works in the world of which we are a part. The Psalms touch the heights and depths of our emotions in the presence of God and remind us that even if we feel lost and abandoned we are within reach of God who loves us beyond the measure of our comprehension. Praise the LORD.
March 25, 2019
LCM
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 31, 2019
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
I have been known to skip to the end of a book, to read the last page or so, to see how the whole thing wraps up. Gratefully, it has never ruined a book for me to know how it ends. I rarely do it any more, however I do not fault anyone who reads the end of a book out of sequence. It can add to the interest as those of us who do this get to consider how the events on a given page move us to the end we know is coming. And yes, I can feel the disapproval of several friends and family as they discover this about me. The end of a book can serve to launch the readers into reality with new tools and insights, no matter when and how often that end is read.
This is the end of the Book of Psalms. It ends with a note of praise. The word praise is used thirteen times in six verses. For those who want to know what is important now that this book is at an end, the psalmist encourages us to praise the LORD. Are you having an excellent day? Praise the LORD. Are you having a bad day? Find a reason to praise the LORD. Are you being judged because you disagree with people around you? Praise the LORD because you have been given the ability to think for yourself. Is your life falling apart at the seams, ripping apart in the middle, wearing out at the stress points like a favorite shirt? Praise the LORD that you are not alone, that you are surrounded by people who love you, and that you are held in the loving arms of God.
As we look for reasons to praise we find our hearts and lives lifted to a new appreciation of the good that is present all around us. As we praise the LORD, we make new connections, new links in body mind and spirit, about how God works in the world of which we are a part. The Psalms touch the heights and depths of our emotions in the presence of God and remind us that even if we feel lost and abandoned we are within reach of God who loves us beyond the measure of our comprehension. Praise the LORD.
March 25, 2019
LCM
Monday, August 12, 2013
Psalm Meditation 687
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 18, 2013
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
Sound, noise, volume; there is something about being joyful that cries out for ways to express ourselves with energetic loudness. Bodies need a way to express the full extent of our joy and it comes out in movement and sound. The psalmist encourages us to praise God in ways that draw attention to our celebration. The physical expressions of joy lead people to ask what is making us lose control and opens us to offer our praises all over again to those who have asked.
This is one way of many to offer God our praise. There are many of us who do not like to draw attention to ourselves at the heights of joy or any other time in our lives. This does not mean that we do not feel the same need to offer God our praise. It is not that one way is right and the other way wrong, it is simply two of the many ways to offer God our praise.
Whether you are one to jump up and down while making a joyful noise or one who stays still and calm on the outside while joy bounces around your insides it is good to offer praises to God who is the source of all things. No matter how we may choose to offer our praises, it is good to praise the Lord.
August 12, 2013
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 18, 2013
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
Sound, noise, volume; there is something about being joyful that cries out for ways to express ourselves with energetic loudness. Bodies need a way to express the full extent of our joy and it comes out in movement and sound. The psalmist encourages us to praise God in ways that draw attention to our celebration. The physical expressions of joy lead people to ask what is making us lose control and opens us to offer our praises all over again to those who have asked.
This is one way of many to offer God our praise. There are many of us who do not like to draw attention to ourselves at the heights of joy or any other time in our lives. This does not mean that we do not feel the same need to offer God our praise. It is not that one way is right and the other way wrong, it is simply two of the many ways to offer God our praise.
Whether you are one to jump up and down while making a joyful noise or one who stays still and calm on the outside while joy bounces around your insides it is good to offer praises to God who is the source of all things. No matter how we may choose to offer our praises, it is good to praise the Lord.
August 12, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
meditation 681 (150)
Psalm Meditation 681
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 7, 2013
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
I sang “Lord of the Dance” at an ecumenical Lenten service many years ago and after the service a member of one of the other congregations told me that the only reason he didn’t walk out of the service as soon as I started singing was out of respect for me. Obviously, he hated the song, especially as it implied that Jesus would do something he thought of as uncomfortable if not downright evil. I started to argue with him that there are several references to dancing in Scripture but he would have none of it. It became easier to thank him for his respect for me than to convince him that while there might be some less than faithful types of dancing, it was not necessary to paint all dancing with the same broad brush.
This final psalm calls us, invites us to use all the resources at our disposal to lift our praises to God. Wind instruments, stringed instruments, percussion instruments as well our bodies can be employed in giving God praise. One of my friends reminds me on a regular basis that each of us does not have the same gifts to be employed in praise. That is, we do not have the freedom to express ourselves in each of these modes of praise. The point of the psalm is to let loose, to the best of our ability, in praising God for all that goes on in and around us because we feel the hand of God upon us. It is also important to recognize the presence of those voices in our heads that keep us from some of these expressions of praise.
The poor guy in the Lenten service had that voice in his head saying that all dance is bad. There are some wonderful expressions of dance as a form of worship, especially in the cultural context of the particular congregation. Whether we are comfortable praising God with dance or not, the psalmist reminds us to give God our praise in the best way we can and to do it with our whole heart, life, being.
July 1, 2013
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 7, 2013
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
I sang “Lord of the Dance” at an ecumenical Lenten service many years ago and after the service a member of one of the other congregations told me that the only reason he didn’t walk out of the service as soon as I started singing was out of respect for me. Obviously, he hated the song, especially as it implied that Jesus would do something he thought of as uncomfortable if not downright evil. I started to argue with him that there are several references to dancing in Scripture but he would have none of it. It became easier to thank him for his respect for me than to convince him that while there might be some less than faithful types of dancing, it was not necessary to paint all dancing with the same broad brush.
This final psalm calls us, invites us to use all the resources at our disposal to lift our praises to God. Wind instruments, stringed instruments, percussion instruments as well our bodies can be employed in giving God praise. One of my friends reminds me on a regular basis that each of us does not have the same gifts to be employed in praise. That is, we do not have the freedom to express ourselves in each of these modes of praise. The point of the psalm is to let loose, to the best of our ability, in praising God for all that goes on in and around us because we feel the hand of God upon us. It is also important to recognize the presence of those voices in our heads that keep us from some of these expressions of praise.
The poor guy in the Lenten service had that voice in his head saying that all dance is bad. There are some wonderful expressions of dance as a form of worship, especially in the cultural context of the particular congregation. Whether we are comfortable praising God with dance or not, the psalmist reminds us to give God our praise in the best way we can and to do it with our whole heart, life, being.
July 1, 2013
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