Psalm 148: Praise the Lord
As we enter the Christmas season, we tend to be more mindful of King Jesus. Decorations remind us of an amazing God who willingly left his place on his heavenly throne to enter our sinful world, walk among us without sinning, and perfectly bring us salvation. Yet this same season brings reminders of money and stuff. Advertisements and sales compete for praises. The stuff to be wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree contends for our worship. What are we to do?
First, we must see our King for who he truly is. Look at Psalm 148. "Praise the Lord!" it starts and ends. We see this same command throughout the Psalm too. All his angels are commanded to praise God, all of our created world as well (which verse 5 says God created by the command with his voice). All of the earth and sky and sea are to praise the Lord. The creatures are commanded to give their praises to the King of Kings. And all the people of the earth are commanded to praise the Lord too. This includes the kings and rulers as well as the young and the old. Why? Because verse 13 says, "Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above the earth and heaven" (ESV). God alone is worthy of our praises!
Second, we must submit to this wonderful King. As we praise Jesus and Jesus alone we join with all creation in obedience to Psalm 148. If not, we are in violation to God's decree. And in our obedience, we see how remarkable our King really is. As our hearts are rightly oriented to worship the only one worthy of our praise, we find joy and blessing in and from Christ.
Finally, as we engage in the advent season, we rightly celebrate the King who calls for our celebration. Think about what it must have looked like to those shepherds in the fields when the angels filled the sky singing the baby Jesus's praises. (See Luke 2.) In truth, the praises of God are still happening day and night and we get to join the party. As we think about Christmas, let us remember our King. As we think about this little baby in a manger, let us meditate on what he gave up for us. As we look to the birth of Jesus, let us remember that this little baby came to die in order to give us an abundant life as citizens in his Kingdom! In light of our great and glorious Lord, the 'stuff' under the tree looks silly. How could we have ever worshiped the 'stuff'? But we did. How could we have ever given anything other than Jesus our praises? But we have.
Let's take full advantage of this Christmas season to reorient ourselves to praise the Lord. Redeeming Life, let's praise the Lord in such a way that we proclaim the gospel to those who still worship something or someone other than King Jesus. Let's see Christ in our Christmas celebration and ensure that he remains in his rightful place-- in the total focus of our worship!
Praise the Lord!
Pastor Bryan
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