Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Someday. In God’s time, in our certain future, this verse will be fulfilled. Why wait?
(Psalm 149) That glorious
Let the saints be joyful in glory, let them sing aloud on their beds.
The truth is that glorious, God is that real. It is no wonder we are encouraged to sing aloud, even while we lay in our beds.
(Psalm 148) A God who is near
Let [all] praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and heaven. And He has exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints—of the children of Israel, a people near to Him.
Near to Him. His glory is above earth and heaven, yet it does not mean that He is far off. He is a God who is near, nearer to us than the next beat of our heart.
(Psalm 147) Is He a God or what?
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite.
His understanding is infinite. Inscrutable. Limitless. Eternal. Yet His love for us is personal, tender, sacrifical, never-failing. Is He a God or what?
(Psalm 146) Any sanity
Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord. I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Our lives are to be filled with His praise; as long as we have breath, as long as we have any sanity in this otherwise insane world, let us praise the Lord!
(Psalm 136) Who He is
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever.
In every verse (twenty -six times!) we are reminded that the mercy of the Lord endures forever! If it is endures forever, it is unchangeable; it is who He is.
(Psalm 135) In every way
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes they have, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.
The psalmist draws a great (and obvious) constrast between worthless idols and the true and living God. God is real and personal in every way that an idol is not.
(Psalm 134) See Him truly
Behold, bless the Lord!
To see Him truly is to adore Him, to reverence Him, to love Him.
(Psalm 133) Paschal troparion
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
The blessing of the Lord is life forevermore. Death is the enemy. The Lord Himself conquered death. In the words of the Paschal troparion sung each Easter in Eastern Orthodox churches around the globe:
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling down death by death
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!
(Psalm 132) His dwelling place
For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.”
Surely the Lord desires more than a mountain in a desert country. Surely He desires us—you and me—for His dwelling place.
