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Meditation of the Day“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 150:6)As I was meditating upon my devotions in Proverbs, a sound
almost foreign entered my ears. The
Robins are back. Spring has come.
Oblivious to the fact until this morning, I realized that God has in His
faithfulness left winter behind and brought us spring again.
The grass is turning green. Mama
cat is pregnant again. The tulips
have already begun to emerge. The
lilac outside our door is budding. My
chives from last year have returned. As my eyes surveyed this glorious and majestic symphony, I
couldn’t but help think of the psalmist’s final line in one of the most
celebrated books in the entire Bible. In this short psalm of only six verses, the psalmist
answers for us four important questions, as follows: 1.
Where should Yahweh be praised?
Answer: In His sanctuary, His “mighty heavens” (v. 1, NIV). The infinite sky that we gaze upon is the majestic arena
where Yahweh displays to His creation His awesome power (cf. Psalm 19:1).
Indeed, so high and lifted up is the LORD,
that Isaiah says that the earth is but His footstool (Isaiah 66:1). 2.
Why should Yahweh be praised? Answer: Because of His mighty acts
of power and surpassing greatness (v. 2, NIV).
As Scripture elsewhere attests, God is to be praised as Creator.
As Creator, He is the sovereign potentate of the universe, and is thus
worthy of eternal praise. But even more than this, God is to be praised as Redeemer.
Though the creation of the universe ex nihilo (‘out of
nothing’) is indeed a “mighty act of His power”, the redemption He has
wrought for His people is the chief reason they are to sing praises to Him in
glad adoration. Not only is Yahweh
to be praised for who He is, but He is also to be praised for what He has done
for us. 3.
How should Yahweh be praised?
Answer: in orchestral beauty (vv. 3-5).
Some denominations deride and chide the use of instruments in the act of
‘worship.’ Nothing could be
further from the psalmist’s mind here. We
are to worship God in the splendor of beauty, and this ought to include how
it sounds. 4.
Who should praise Yahweh? Answer:
all His creation. There is no exception here.
This is not just a call for Yahweh’s redeemed people. One of the greatest longings we as humans crave is the
longing for purpose. I am
quite certain that every person has, or will, ask the question, “Why am I
here?” Are we, like the atheists
claim, purposeless? Is our
existence one of survival only? Or is there a grand plan for our existence?
Is there a reason that my natural senses were absolutely filled with
delight this morning as I looked at cats and flowers and clouds and my sleeping
3-month-old daughter? The psalmist answers my musings with an affirmative
“Yes!” Whether or not we accept
it, there is a grand purpose in our existence.
Not only this, there is a grand purpose for the existence of everything.
And that is God’s supreme glory. All
that transpired this morning was intended and designed by God so that I, with
His grand creation, would praise His awesome name. Though sinful man kicks against such goads, those who have
experienced God’s redemption delight in the fact that they, with all of
creation, were created to redound unto the praise of His glorious grace
(Ephesians 1:6). And so the psalmist commands all of creation to join him in
glad exaltation of his heavenly King, the great Creator of the universe.
If the psalmist who composed this song for his Creator were around when
the Westminster Shorter Catechism was composed, I wonder if his name would not
be at the top of those signing their approval.
For those who are not familiar with the first tenet, it states the
following: “What is the chief end of man?
Answer: the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” In six short verses, the psalmist employs the imperative
“praise” twelve times. I think
he is trying to tell the reader something.
May we, by God’s grace take heed to his joyful exhortation. May those of us who have tasted and seen that Yahweh is
good especially devote our lives to praise Him, for He has given us His only Son
to procure our salvation. The
mighty work that my lips praise even now is the cross work of my Lord Jesus
Christ, who not only created me, but also redeemed me by His precious blood. Truly,
He is to be praised for His “surpassing greatness.” One day, says Paul, every knee will bow in homage and
respect to Jesus Christ, and every tongue confess that He is Yahweh to the glory
of God the Father. May none wait
until that dreadful day to acknowledge the Son in this way. Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with adoration to praise You
not only as the Sovereign Creator of the universe, but also to praise You as the
Sovereign Redeemer of Your creation. Give
us hearts that pant with the rest of creation for the new heavens and new earth,
where we will sing our eternal Hallelujahs to our King. For Christ, and His eternal glory, Pastor Ryan Meditation Archives
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