Praise the Lord; Be Lifted Up... Psalms 148-149; James 4

May the mumbling commence!

Praise God.  All creation praises God.  Why should we be silent?  Read Psalm One-hundred Forty-eight:

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens!

Praise him from the skies! 

Praise him, all his angels!

Praise him, all the armies of heaven! 

Praise him, sun and moon!

Praise him, all you twinkling stars! 

Praise him, skies above!

Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! 

Let every created thing give praise to the Lord,

for he issued his command, and they came into being. 

He established them forever and forever.

His orders will never be revoked. 

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you creatures of the ocean depths, 

fire and hail, snow and storm,

wind and weather that obey him, 

mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 

wild animals and all livestock, reptiles and birds, 

kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, 

young men and maidens, old men and children. 

Let them all praise the name of the Lord.

For his name is very great;

his glory towers over the earth and heaven! 

He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—

the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

The list of creatures and creation that praises the Lord in this psalm is many a varied.  Still, the list is not complete.  A complete list would be longer than the whole of Psalm One-hundred Nineteen (the longest chapter of the Bible).  And the list would be incomplete without your praise… without my praise… without our praise of the Lord Most High.

So PRAISE THE LORD!  Humble yourselves draw close and be cleansed.  Read from James chapter four:

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites.  Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.  When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. (Verses 7-10)

Humble yourself.  Resist evil.  Watch it run in fear.  

Draw close to God and know God’s closeness to you.  Wash your hands and purify your hearts.  Acknowledge where you have fallen short.  Be forgiven and watch laughter and joy be birthed.  

Know your dependence on God, and the Lord will lift you up.  

Be lifted up!

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out