Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Daily reading assignment – Psalms 149-150
Our year-long reading of the Psalms come to a close today on an appropriate theme… “Praise ye the LORD”. Psalm 149 and Psalm 150 begin and end with a call to worship. What an incredible thought that the LORD, our Creator Who is Almighty desires we His people praise Him.
Dogs bark, cats purr, lions roar, and eagles screech…but man alone has the means to communicate in words, song, and musical instruments his worship of the LORD through songs of praise.
I have taken liberty to add to today’s psalms my amplification of the closing chapters in this wonderful book of songs of worship and praise. As one who loves music, I invite you to especially note the prominence of music, musical instruments, and trained musicians in worshipping the LORD.
Psalm 149:1-9 – Praise [Glory; Celebrate; Sing; Boast] ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new [fresh] song, and his praise [hymn of adoration; song of praise] in the congregation [Assembly] of saints [the godly; pious].
2 Let Israel [lit. “He will rule as God”; another name for Jacob] rejoice [be glad; joyful] in him [i.e. the LORD] that made [Created] him [Israel or Jacob]: let the children of Zion [mount upon which Jerusalem was found] be joyful [be glad; rejoice] in their King.
3 Let them praise his name [the name of the LORD] in the dance [i.e. round dance; dance in circular motion]: let them sing praises [psalms] unto him with the timbrel [tambourine] and harp [the string instrument].
4 For the LORD taketh pleasure [delights; pleased] in his people [people of His congregation; like Israel]: he will beautify [glory; boast] the meek [poor; humble; lowly] with salvation [He will deliver; prosper].
5 Let the saints [the godly; pious] be joyful [i.e. jump for joy; rejoice] in glory [or splendor bestowed on them by the LORD]: let them sing aloud [rejoice; shout for joy] upon their beds.
6 Let the high [exaltation] praises of God [Almighty God] be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
7 To execute [work; create; make; show] vengeance [revenge] upon the heathen [Gentile nations], and punishments [chastening; rebuke; reproof] upon the people [nation];
8 To bind their kings [rulers of the Gentile nations] with chains, and their nobles [those who exercise authority] with fetters [chains; manacles that bind] of iron;
9 To execute [make; create] upon them the judgment [law; ordinance] written [prescribed]: this honour [glory; majesty; splendor] have all his saints [godly]. Praise [Glory; Celebrate; Sing; Boast] ye the LORD.
Psalm 150:1-6 – Praise [Glory; Celebrate; Sing; Boast] ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary [holy; sacred place dedicated to the LORD]: praise him in the firmament [in the heavens] of his power [strength; might; majesty].
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent [abundance] greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery [lyre] and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel [tambourine] and dance [i.e. round dance; dance in circular motion]: praise him with stringed instruments and organs [flute; pipe].
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals [large, clashing cymbals]: praise him upon the high sounding [jubilant; loud noise] cymbals [i.e. perhaps like a ringing bell].
6 Let every thing that hath breath [breath of life] praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
It saddens me to witness the diminishing of congregational singing and choral anthems in the 21st century church.
In today’s church, the choir, a central part of worship dating to the time of King David, has become little more than a backup for spotlight hungry semi-professionals vocalists. Even worse, congregations singing great, majestic hymns of the Christian faith are relegated to audiences mumbling in almost muted silence, “Seven-Eleven Choruses” [seven words repeated eleven times]. Worship today is a far cry from the worship the psalmist describes in today’s psalms.
I praise the LORD He has blessed Hillsdale with skilled musicians who voluntarily give and use their talents when our congregation worships the LORD with hymns of worship and praise. What a joy to have musicians and choir members who, week after week, dedicate their time and talents to serving the LORD and praising Him!
“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD” (Psalm 150:6).
Copyright 2017 – Travis D. Smith