Psalm 148
Praise for God’s Universal Glory
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.[a]
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.[a]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 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!
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 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!
As many of you know I now live and work in another state as the minister of children and families at a large inner-city church...
During the advent season i was involved in planning and preparing for a few different events -
one of which happened to be called a night at the nativity
during this event groups of families and single persons,
young and old,
able and weary,
all gathered together and passed through different stations exploring the nativity scene in new and unusual ways
not to my surprise many of the children loved walking outside to live animals, a donkey, waiting to greet them and tell of his story - the animal that carried mary to bethlehem
everyone also passed through a creative room where they were invited to create their own nativity ornament,
they walked through the nativity- the cresh- of galloway and heard of those who donated this beloved treasure in the past
the last station for each group invited those gathered around to hear portions of that great nativity read aloud and then everyone
was invited to imagine themselves a part of the story-
who would they be ?
to my surprise many persons wanted to be animals:
the camel because they felt their loads were heavy,
the donkey because they wanted to carry mary as she rested- because they carry those around them when they need to rest,
the sheep who provided lullabies of humming to the sweet newborn child
as the night ended i was left astonished at the number of people willing to be,
no wanting to be,
the animal who gave up their bed, the animal that represented love and compassion, the animal who soothed mary and joseph that night-
i am not sure about you but i had not ever imagined myself in the role of one of these creatures outside of being dressed up like one to fulfill a manger scene as a child
i also figured that to be giving my due praise and adoration of christ, of emmanuel, i would need to be one with a human voice- one offering real gifts or holding the child as he cried
being the bystander animals seemed like it was not enough, it did not beckon enough praise
in todays psalm we hear of all of creation offering praise to god
praise to the creator
and in reading this psalm i quite honestly imagine the psalmist was asked some question like the one we asked that night, or at least a similar question- a question of so just where do you see praise of god, and the psalmist answers- that he sees praise of god all over creation
coming off of christmas, just a few days ago, it feels more appropriate than ever to notice the praises that all of creation is uttering from around and within us
the coos that calm
the waves that offer peace
the hay that offers rest and stability
----
the praise that psalm 148 offers is full of exclamation and rejoicing- if you just look at the way the text is written you can almost feel the emotion leaping off of the page and into your soul
PRAISE THE LORD, the psalmist writes
Praise Gods works
PRAISE plummeting from the heights of heaven and into the depths of the seas- throughout this psalm it becomes clear the praise of god should know no bounds
yet the sunday after christmas i would beg to differ for some gathered in this space
i would beg to say that for many in this space during at least one moment this holiday season, this advent season, offering -- and even noticing--- praise of god might have been a tad bit difficult
in the wake of death or finance struggle,
in your empty nests or if you are like me, missing your sweet baby brother and best friend as you wake up christmas morning,
the parents weary from searching for the perfect christmas gift just to be out-gifted by their in-laws,
and in these moments offering praise to god from the skies to the seas comes as more of a challenge than it might always have been
one year we might find ourselves all gathered around a tree with our beloved friends and family and the next mourning their sudden loss just days before
one year we will find ourselves celebrating all the gifts we have received and yet others sulking in our one true wish
today’s psalm invites us to realize the true interconnectedness of all our being
the connection of all our doing
is the praise of god
i believe that the invitation the pslamist gives to us all to explore the ways we praise and the ways other things praise god is essential for us to do each year, right about this time
as we sulk in our wishes
or celebrates our joys
as we mourn the loss of those near and dear to us
or welcome them to our home once again
as we bask in financial gain
or strap to make ends meet
it is essential for us to stop and pay attention to the ways in which we offer god our praise
it is essential to stop and pay attention to the ways in which the world around us is offering god praise
it is essential to stop and to praise
throughout psalm 148 we are invited to explore the true purpose of all beings- to offer thanks to god
psalm 148 reminds us that god has made us all and that even on our hard days,
the simple knowledge that we have been made by god is enough to beckon us to offer praises to god --
or at least to notice the praise of those around us
in this text we are begged to understand that our adoration of god is not dependent upon or determined by how things are going at the present moment
not determined by the number of wishes we got off of our christmas list
not dependent upon the complements we get for our new things
no, the psalmist says, PRAISE DOES NOT HAVE TO DO
WITH YOUR CURRENT
CIRCUMSTANCES
praise has to do with your ETERNAL CREATOR
thanksgiving and appreciation and love for god is not, should not be, wrapped up in the here and now,
if you watch any 6pm news cast you will see that if praise were dependent our latest headlines things would be looking mighty bleak on god’s behalf
praise is all consumed with the love and grace of God that was, that is and that will never stop being
--------
this year i went to see a school play that five of my first grade students from church were in
it was during one of my busiest weeks at work and i knew that going to see the play would mean a late night in the office, it would mean small talk with parents when i could be working on more pressing issues, it would be a semi-sacrifice
yet i had received five different calls telling me of this play and asking me to come
i was told:
miss m i am a ladybug in the play and i want you to come,
miss m please come see me be a star in my school play,
i am a spider, come see me in a play
i am an angel and i will sing about bugs and stars and jesus and i hope you can come see me in my school play
miss m, i am really excited to be a dragonfly in my school play and i hope you can come see me
as if the five cute faces were not enough to pull me into the play the invitation from bugs and stars to come learn about jesus was something i was not going to miss
going into the play i had no idea what to expect- no idea at all; i woke up early and battled the mob of moms and grandmas, dads and uncles, sisters and brothers gathered in the parking lot-
as i entered the parking lot i received a phone call alerting me of the passing of a beloved church member and telling me that one of my kiddos was coming early- the mama was in birth- and that the family needed prayer and support, pronto
after returning calls and making plans to visit these families later in the day i took a deep breath and looked around the bright blue sky
with a less than excited attitude i put on my game face, my warm body thanking God for the sunny day since i had forgotten my coat, and made my way to the entrance of the gym
soon the show started and for the next hour one of the most beautiful displays of gods love and grace was enacted before my very eyes.
the story of the birth of christ was told by all the animals and bugs and wisemen and ladies and shepherds that must have been there that night
as i watched the nativity unfold before my eyes and heard spiders who told how they might have woven a web something like that of charlotte to celebrate christs birth
ladybugs tell how they danced in the sky out of praise
sheep who said how they cooed the child to sleep
stars who told how nothing can overcome gods light
my heart burst a new- and the night at the nativity program, specifically the question of who i might be in the nativity ran through my head once more-
the play ended with a modern joy to the world - as literally all of heaven and nature sang and praised- stars and bugs and people and children stopped to observe the wonders of gods love
as i drove away from the school i realized just how refreshing that morning had been- the blue sky that met me shined gods refreshing face when i needed it most
the carols of my six year old ladybugs and stars echoed in my heart and offered praise to god that was difficult for me to muster up that morning
the praise of all of gods creation by all gods creation offered me a break
the messy, beautiful, christmas program praise of all of gods creation stood in for me on a morning when i needed it most
i have to admit, i felt almost guilty driving away from the school that morning- as if the kids and their parents must have known that they had done my job for the day
they had been the star shining in the sky
they had taught me that everything is called to praise god and that when praise is hard for us to find our good and loving god provides others to fill the gap and to restore our soul
yet this,
this is the praise that the psalmist is inviting us into today
a praise that knows no bounds
a praise that lets others fill in for us when we wave a white flag for momentary surrender
a praise that always has room and that we need not look too far to find
in psalm 148 the psalmist lists all the things that are called into this continual praise
the sun and the sky
the stars and the moon
the sea and the sea creatures
the grass and the trees
the bugs and the animals
the angels and the people
the poor and the rich
the black and the white
the republican and the democrat
the stranger and the beloved
through the listing of all these creatures,
all these beings of god emanating gods own face in the world,
it is as if the psalmist is saying to us all
do not worry- i know that sometimes you will be so caught up in astonishment that fashioning words of praise will be unimaginable
do not fear, i know that tough circumstances will render you paralyzed from praise at least for a moment
in those moments look around
the sun and the star
the grass and the tree
the bugs and the animals are whispering my name
they are echoing God’s praise
and for now it is okay - in fact it is beautiful- to rely upon them
for there are seasons of our lives, perhaps this season for you, in which finding a voice of praise feels impossible
our voices are speechless, our vision is blurred, our hearts are heavy
yet when all feels impossible a stable opens unto us and there is room for all and there are sheep waiting to coo us to sleep in hymns of praise and adoration
there are stars reminding us that we are never alone, glimmering praises in the night sky
there are sweet christmas pageants providing a place to rest our feet and take notice of the creation praising gods handiwork all around
God shows up in whirlwinds and burning bushes, starry skies and overpopulated boats and i am certain that when you find praise a difficult task to muster up to, there will be a beautiful paegent of animals and children, friends and family, standing in and reminding you, and reminding me, of gods unending love:
joy to the world
may all of heaven and all of nature sing
joy to the world, for the love of God endures forever
and all of heaven and nature sings, may our eyes be opened . amen.
