Ultimate Praise

DAILY BYTE

The devotions on Psalm 148 for this week are compiled by the Rev. Mel Baars and the Rev. Anna Layman.

Pray through this psalm twice now, and the second time, allow your heart to land on one specific praise that you particularly relate to at the moment. What about your life or the earth right now makes you want to praise God? In the challenging world we live in, sometimes it can be really difficult to identify praiseworthy things, and sometimes we simply forget to praise what’s right in front of our noses. If there seems to be nothing to give praise for, pray anyway, asking God to show you something about your life or the world that is worth praising!

~ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all this angels; praise him, all his host! Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord! ~

What came to mind that is worth praising? A sparkling constellation in the sky outside your window? Recent rainfall that has watered your plants so that you don’t have to do it yourself? A truly magnificent person in your life? A feeling of God’s faithfulness to you?

Psalm 148 is the ultimate song of praise. In it, we are told to praise from the very heights of heaven and from the depths of the earth... young and old... birds of the air and creeping things... all seeming opposites. In Hebrew poetry, this is a place in the text that indicates everything or everyone without actually saying “everything” or “everyone.” The psalms are poetry, after all.

The words must paint a picture for us so that we are able to grasp the enormity of these claims! From the highest point of heaven to the lowest places on earth, uncharted depths of sea... Every person from the mightiest king to a humble man or woman who has been alive but seconds to the oldest human being… Everything and everyone in between - "Praise the Lord!" Every facet, every nook and layer, all things seen and unseen, all of creation is commanded to praise the living God.

So even if you feel like you or your life is insignificant – even if you feel like there is nothing in your life worth praising, think again. If God is saying to everyone everywhere that we must praise him, where is the praise in your life?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, teach us to praise you. Open our eyes to the wonders you are working in our lives. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord - Praise the Lord!

Amen.