Wednesday in God's word

Psalm 149:1-4
Praise ye the Lord.
Sing unto the Lord a new song,
and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance:
let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people:
he will beautify the meek with salvation.

We can think of many ways that the Lord is good to us. Because of our gratitude, we should desire to give Him praise each and every day. He deserves and is worthy of our praise. So how are we to praise Him?  In Psalm 149, we see the how and the why of praise. Our songs are to be new and fresh, sung together, rejoicing in our creator and our king. We dance wildly and use instruments to accompany our songs. Now you’ll notice here that there is no comment on the quality of our voices, the selection of who has to be present, how joy is expressed, how dances are choreographed, or how instruments are played. Just like a parent at a recital, the Lord takes pleasure in hearing the songs of His people because these people belong to Him. We know from our Bible, that in God’s eyes, the last among men are the first in God’s kingdom. The cursed and the scorned become the welcomed and beloved.  The ridiculed and rejected become the righteous and renowned. His people may be, in the world’s eyes, unsuccessful, unimaginative, uninspired, and ugly. But look at the last sentence. We may never be considered beautiful or accomplished by the world’s standards. But that’s OK.  The world’s standards are pathetic and are to be ignored. Why? Because the world makes idols of physical beauty, wealth, and power.  The Lord, on the other hand, made us rich through the poverty of Christ, he made us powerful through the Holy Spirit.  And most wonderfully, He has made us beautiful through salvation. And that is the most beautiful truth of all.