Praise, praise, praise
by Pastor Jim Strelan
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He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord (Psalm 148:14).
Read Psalm 148
Sometimes, when we think about God, we are left with the need to praise him. We try to fathom him, explain him, grasp him, but he is beyond our capacity to do those things, so we are left with nothing but praise. The wonder of such undeserved love. He doesn’t just love us a little bit. He doesn’t just love us reluctantly. He sees us as precious jewels that he holds in his hands. And that includes you. And then there are times when we are just blown away by something beautiful: a sunset, the ocean, a waterfall, a majestic tree – and we are left with nothing but praise.
In this psalm, we have all of creation praising God. All of it: the sun, moon, stars, sea creatures, storms, animals and humans – from kings to children. We can sometimes think that praising God is only something we humans do, but this psalm reminds us that every created thing sings its own song in praise of the Creator.
And then there’s the interesting verse 14, which talks about God raising up a ‘horn’ that is ‘the praise of all his saints’. Now, that is a little obscure. It could refer to the raised horns of a rampaging bull, a symbol then of triumph. It could refer to the horn of oil used to anoint a special person for a specific role. It certainly suggests someone who deserves all our praise and all the praise of creation.
This past week, our focus has been on the birth of God’s Anointed One, Jesus. The angels sang their praises in the Bethlehem fields. The shepherds left the stable, praising God for everything they had seen and heard. We have sung the carols of praise as we’ve retold the story. There is wonder in it. God is at work. We – and all creation – praise God over and over, day after day. Praise the Lord!
God of all, help me to listen and hear the praise of creation all around me. I join that song and thank you for joining your life to mine in Jesus. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor who lives with his wife, Ruth, on the north side of Brisbane. He is a proud and not very humble Brisbane Lions supporter. Jim likes to read, listen to music and play golf. He and Ruth love being with their young grandchildren and watching them grow. For Jim, grace is everything, and he will share that however and whenever possible.
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