“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (v1-6)
The book ends on a high note, reminding us that we are to praise God. Period. Praise Him as you see fit, with an instrument, our voices, or our bodies. Why do we praise Him? Because He is mighty in deeds and He has excellent greatness. Who is to praise Him? Everything that has breath (that includes all of us). The author leaves us with those few statements – they are succinct and to the point.
I also appreciate what the author has left out – there aren’t any conditions in this psalm. What I mean is, there aren’t any exceptions or ways out of what the author is saying. There aren’t any statements like “praise God when you feel like it” or “worship when the Spirit moves you” or “celebrate God on the Sabbath”. There’s aren’t any exceptions to this rule.
The lack of conditions/circumstances implies allows at least two perspectives. First, there are no circumstances under which we are not to praise God. No matter how “good” or “bad” we feel, or the day seems, we are to praise God. So some people may feel obligated to praise Him when hey really don’t want to.
Second, the lack of restrictions can be seen as very freeing. Some may feel like this is a huge blessing, having the freedom to worship when and where they can, even when the circumstances may not seem conducive to praise. I find this freeing, since I often struggle with frustrations throughout the day (you may too) and I take those as opportunities to be thankful. For example, I drop the coffee filter of wet grounds on the floor and instantly feel frustrated at the extra work created, yet I can take the opportunity to be thankful that I have coffee and a coffee maker (not everybody has these things).
My challenge for today is to take a negative trigger – such as frustration or unrighteous anger – and attempt to make it a trigger for thanksgiving and praise instead. Any time you feel that blood pressure rising think of some reason to praise God (you may need to think for a few minutes, it sometimes takes me a while). Once you have at least one thing to praise God for, do it, right then and there, if only in your silent prayers. In my experience my frustrations/anger melt away and I’m suddenly in a better mood (it’s hard to remain angry and thankful at the same time). I encourage us to use these negative triggers as springboards toward praising and thanking God.
Father God, Matchless One, Lord Most High, we praise and worship Your holy name. You alone are worthy of praise, and You have blessed us greatly, for which we are extremely thankful. Father please teach us to praise You in all circumstances and at all times. When we encounter various struggles, large or small, would we learn to praise You and thank You for Your steadfast loving presence and guidance. We acknowledge this isn’t easy, and we need Your help, so please strengthen us and be gracious with us. To You be all honor, glory and praise for Your excellent greatness, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training