Saturday, April 9, 2022

​Praise the Lord!
 
Psalm 149: 1, 3-4
1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.
 
Psalm 149 begins with a command reminding us to “Praise the Lord!”  Why? Because even God desires praise, just like our children, our families, and friends. God wants to hear our praise, our acknowledgement of how wonderful he is. Over the last year, I have noticed myself saying on occasion that I was “lucky” when speaking of some fortunate development in my life. I have been on a campaign to stop that and instead praise God for the good fortune, since He is the one who really deserves the credit – not some random stroke of “luck”.
 
God does so many wonderful things for us, and he wants to hear from us. We all can remember a time when we completed some project – a work of art, a story, a craft, a new recipe – and could not wait to share it with someone special to us. We are special to God, and he wants to share his love with us. This Psalm reminds us that God takes pleasure in his people. He wants to be with us!
 
We join together with other believers in the act of worship each Sunday. The Psalm mentions praising God by singing new songs, making music with instruments, and dancing. This description reminds us that worship with our fellow Christians is not an obligation, but a joyful and passionate expression of our love and adoration for our God. Worship is to be filled with life and celebration – an expression of our deep joy for fellowship with God and each other. We are to create new songs and beautiful music. We are to dance with joy for the opportunity to praise God together. 
 
We are assured in Matthew 18:20 that whenever two or three of us are gathered, the Lord is there with us. To join together with each other in the presence of God is a very inspiring and joyful experience that feeds us all and brings us into the holy community of being one with each other and with our God. In this we all truly become “One Body in Christ”. Praise the Lord!
Tyler Bennington