Celebrate
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, you have given me so much. I only asked for one thing – grant me a heart of praise.
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
REFLECT:
Join with Creation, praising God in this song. Clap if you wish, dance if you can and, above all, enjoy! This is a song all about God.
No personal stuff from the psalmist this time, just sheer adulation. It’s about who God is, as well as what he does. It’s so easy to focus on the latter and forget that God is God. Through our readings from Matthew’s Gospel, we are focusing on Jesus’ God-given authority and power. It’s about giving God all the glory. So, we worship I AM (see Exodus 3:14). We praise Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8).
The words of this final psalm are a call to fulfill the promise of Paul’s words to the Philippians in chapter 2, verses 10 and 11: ‘… that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’
Try to hear the instruments as they join in worship – the trumpet blast blending with the penetrating sounds of harp strings (v 3). Add to this the notes of a flute, accompanied by stringed instruments and a tamborine (v 4). Wait a moment, then imagine crashing cymbals as the song reaches a climax. Praise the Lord!
APPLY:
Pray that the words you have just reflected on will stay with you as you go about your daily life. As they come to mind, praise God – silently or aloud – and rejoice!
CLOSING PRAYER:
On this Lord’s Day, I join with all peoples in all places, who rejoice and give thankful praise to you.
WORSHIP:
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