April 19, 2021

Psalm 150 CEB
Ralph Kidd
Retired Elder
Clinch River District

Psalm 150

Praise God in his sanctuary!
    Praise God in his fortress, the sky!
2 Praise God in his mighty acts!
    Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!
3 Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn!
    Praise God with lute and lyre!
4 Praise God with drum and dance!
    Praise God with strings and pipe!
5 Praise God with loud cymbals!
    Praise God with clashing cymbals!
6 Let every living thing praise the Lord!

Devotion

When I was a student at Duke, I was sitting out on the Quad one hot summer evening with an older student. We were discussing a homiletic s class on methods of preaching. When the academic discussions were over my friend said to me, “When I preach I just brag on Jesus.” Today’s scripture always reminds me of that incredible thought. It’s true not just in preaching.

Psalm 150, the last psalm, reminds us that praising God should be a great part of our lives. The first thing the Psalmist mentions is praising God in the sanctuary. He also mentions praising God outside, praising him for all he does for us, and praising him according to his exceeding greatness. Then he lists a variety of musical instruments and dancing. It doesn’t take much imagination to translate that kind of praise to today’s world.

In the church I grew up in, we use to sing these words:

“Praise him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer! For our sins He suffered, and bled and died. He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation. Hail Him! Hail Him Jesus the Crucified. Sound his praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows, Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong. Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of his excellent greatness; Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!”

Prayer

Lord, help us to be praising people. In Jesus’ name. Amen