Meeting God in the Psalmsنمونہ

Praise

The book of Psalms ends in five incredible psalms of praise—the hallelujah psalms. This crescendo of praise comes from all creation, from God’s people to the worms in the dirt to the creatures in the sea and out into the infinitude of the cosmos. All are summoned to shout and sing praise to God.

There’s so much joy here! Think back to Psalm 1 and the joy that was promised there: “Oh, the joys of those who . . . delight in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:1-2, NLT). Now, in these final psalms, we see and hear the fulfillment of that joy. We’re given a window into heaven and eternity, where everything is filled with praise for God. And we are meant to join it.

But what if you’re not feeling it? What if you’re back in lament right now? What if you’re just really busy and don’t have a lot of time to praise? That was the ancient Israelites’ problem: distraction and busyness.

Just before they finally set foot in the Promised Land, God cautioned them, “When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:10-11, NLT).

We do sometimes forget God. I do. When we forget God, our reality changes. We get stuck in ourselves and our circumstances. Our Father is still there, but we don’t perceive him. So when we stop and remember, and when we turn to the Psalms, we’ll find a hundred reasons to praise him: for his acts of creation, for his rescues, because he keeps all his promises, because his love never ends, because he is mighty and glorious, because his judgments are always perfect and righteous, because he has compassion on all his creation.

Let’s make room for some praise right now. We need more than words. Praise is a verb, an action! Hallelujah means “give praise.” So praise is not just something we say—it’s something we do! That means we’re going to need our bodies as well as our words.

Our emotions often follow our muscles, not vice versa. Our physical movements and expressions have a profound effect on our thinking, our feeling, and our whole sense of well-being. Didn’t God ask us to love him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength?

Draw Near

I want you to try this. You may have already read Psalm 145. Go back to it again. Put on some of your favorite upbeat music. Read the psalm aloud this time, and let your body express it as well. Whether you’re sitting, standing, or lying down, let your body move however it wants to. When we do this, we experience the joy of praise and experience the presence of God in a fuller way. God is not far away. He is near and ready for you to find him and experience him afresh in the Psalms.