“Praise the Lord” praise, , occurs 13 times. You praise God where God is. Isaiah 6:1-8 You praise God for who God is. You praise God with everything Sermon Text: you have and everything there is. With every instrument you have. And I’m sorry, though I have been asked before, I am not able to One of the most prominent and probably popular parts of our share any insight into the difference between the clanging cymbals regular worship service is our music. It is likely the most and loud clashing cymbals. That just a mystery I’ve come to intentional act of Praise that we offer. We see the seraphim singing accept. in the divine throne room in Isaiah, still singing in Revelation. Music and praise are part of the biblical story. So, today, I wanted I have long held that the book of tells a story in its to look at praise, and there is no better place to go than the psalms. arrangement. As you read through the psalms, a plot emerges. It is Another place where praise is worked out with music. a playlist of Israel’s hymns. But it is less like “Classic Hits of the 1960s” playlist and more like the playlist from “Hamilton.” The Psalm 150 is at the end of a 5-psalm hallelujah doxology that book of psalms has told a story that walks through Davidic finishes off the psalms. Hallelujah is a great word. It’s actually a kingship, into exile, and finally back home again. It’s a story that command. “Praise Yahweh” Who apparently likes going by the goes from lament to despair to anger to joy and ultimately to Ps nickname, “Yah” here. Most Bible’s translate it “the Lord”. So, the 150 and Hallelujah. The story of the psalms is a story that goes word Hallelujah, and the later Latin transliteration Alleluia, is an from seemingly naive trusting that the righteous will be blessed imperative. It’s a command, as in “Hey EVERYONE, give the and the wicked will be punished in . To wondering why the Lord praise” It’s a word that calls the community to the praise of wicked aren’t punished, why doesn’t the world work but finding God. some solace in the presence of God in Psalm 78. To wondering why God doesn’t seem to take care of his friends in Ps 139 to But it actually took the psalms a lot longer than you might think to ultimately, full-throated, unconditional praising in Psalm 150. say the word “Hallelujah.” the first time the word “Hallelujah” occurs in the book in the 150 psalms? The answer might surprise Notice what I said there about Ps 150, “Unconditional praising.” you. It surprised me. But the answer is, Psalm 104. Psalm 104 is This praising faith in Ps 150 is unique. It is faith that has changed the first time the word occurs. The first time the psalmist calls the on the journey through this hymnbook. The faith of Ps 150 is not a community to “Praise the Lord.” faith that cares about circumstance. Every other psalm up to now has focused on the problems facing the psalmist and what the Maybe this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has read the psalmist or the community needed. They have focused on what psalms. It has been a rough journey. Lament is so common. Life God has done or what God could do for them. If they offer praise, bears down with health issues, slanderous enemies, personal they all call to praise God for the benefits God provides to the struggles. Lots of laments with the occasional joyful psalm. people. “Praise God because God has done great things for us.” Through individual songs of difficulty, through the exile, until But not in Psalm 150. It’s unique. It is not a faith that cares about finally over 2/3 of the way through the psalms, the psalmist is blessings or self at all. Remember what I said about this psalm. It finally able to sing “Hallelujah.” praises God for where God is, who God is, and you praise with everything you are. But now, at the end of the ! Five consecutive songs which all call the community to praise the Lord, and the final song is all Why do you praise God? Because of God’s great about praise. Ps 150 is a 6-verse psalm in which the command to accomplishments? Because God likes it? Because it gets you stuff? Nope. You praise God, because God deserves praise. Period. Now had just fallen asleep, they needed eat. They didn’t care if we just understand, this is very hard to do. Most of the time in the Bible, got in the car, they needed a new diaper. They didn’t care if I just people couldn’t even praise and obey God when it WAS in their put on a new shirt, they needed to throw up. best interests to do so. Jeremiah marvels at the inexplicable choices people made. God had promised to bless them if they’d just be And you know what. Of course. I get it. It has to be that way. To obedient. It was a true quid pro quo arrangement. And the people survive, it has to be that way. But if they grow up, and I’m only couldn’t do it. some divinely appointed ATM machine. If they only visit holidays because they “have” to. If that happens, I’d be crushed. If they Now, here we have a psalmist who is calling them to praise never come to love me for who I am not what I do for them, it regardless of their circumstance. You don’t praise God for would be a tragedy. anything that is going on in your life. You praise God because God is worthy of praise. No promise of answers, no formulas, no favors That journey happens in the life of faith as well. We start out in life no connections. You praise God. With everything you have and only loving ourselves and looking out for ourselves. Unfortunately, everything in the world, no matter your personal circumstances. a cursory scan of reality TV or Instagram and you will find that many, never grow out of this circumstance. Jeremiah was That kind of praise is a high faith, that if I am honest, I am going to frustrated that Israel never grew out of that stage. But sometimes, look up to. That is a faith that is going to push me. Praising God no some of us, many of us in here, came to know that God exists, matter the circumstance. Just this week, as we were organizing the loves us, and wants the best for us. and we started loving God for worship service, I commented that it might be nice to find some all those great things that are promised. I know that just like my hymns in our hymnbook that reflected that kind of selfless praise. children’s initial bond with me came because I was the one who Ray found a few…but it hard. It is hard to have that kind of fed them and rocked them, many of us come to God because he selflessness. Look. I know Jesus prayed, “Not my will but yours, O was the one who promised to make things better. Maybe it was the God.” I know that Habakkuk wrote a song celebrating God when promise of heaven after death. Maybe it was purpose and meaning God told him he’d have to simply trust when the world didn’t in life here. Maybe it some other promise you heard comes from make sense.” I know all that. But still, in the quiet of my soul, I God. But faith often starts there. Love God because it gets you cool want the righteous to be rewarded. I want the wicked to be things. punished. Are you ready to praise the Lord when it goes the other way? Are you ready to praise the Lord when the wicked are doing But then Jesus, Job, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Abraham, Paul come well? Are you ready to praise the Lord when the righteous suffer? along and show us that faith doesn’t have to stay there. It turns out Are you ready praise the Lord when you have been working and that just like I dreamt my kids would come to love me for me and serving and praying and trying and aren’t seeming to get not what I give them. God has that dream for us as well. All of anywhere? Every break goes to someone else. Every blessing them were able to praise God where they were no matter where escapes you. Are you ready to “Praise the Lord for where God is” they were. Able to praise no matter the circumstance. regardless of where you are? Well the psalms have made the same journey. From that simple If you can, then God bless you, though apparently that kind of obedience wanting the world to work according to a simple thing doesn’t matter to you. But God bless you, because I look up formula in Psalm 1, through the questions, all the way to Psalm to you. You know when my kids were born, they were two of the 150. A psalm praising God for who God is, not for my blessings. most selfish things you could ever imagine. They didn’t care if I Willing to say, “God wherever I am, whatever my circumstance, Let that sentence soak in for a second. “ISIS beheads and burns its I’m gonna praise you with all I got.” enemies. That’s why we must feed and clothe ours.” Sadiq loves despite of what he received from this people not because of it. All these examples of faith. And then here I am…wondering why God hasn’t answered my prayer for whatever it is… don’t you Let me take a moment to say that if I’m honest, I look up to think I’m worth whatever it is. I certainly think YOU’RE worth Sadiq’s ability to do this. I don’t think I could, and let me make whatever it is you’re praying for. clear, I don’t want to find out.

Maybe. Just maybe there are days I can be proud of. Maybe. But Sadiq could lead the singing of Ps 150. I am not sure I could praise see, this gets even more complicated when you remember the great quite like that. That is powerful praise. But this week, I have come commandment. When you remember that “love of God” and “love to believe that I have been using the word praise rather carelessly. of neighbor” is exactly the same thing. Which means, loving God For years I have said, “Praise and lament” as opposites or when there is nothing in it for you, is the same as loving people contrasts. You know Praise is happy, lament is sad. But the truth is, when there is nothing in it for you. Well. Dang. Are you a the opposite of praise is not lament, it’s despair. It is the praise and consumer in your relationship with others? Or, do you love them love of God that fights back the despair of this world. Praise is the unconditionally? I hope and pray I love others for them and don’t way we articulate our response to a God who works in miraculous simply love them for what I get out of it. Maybe. Just maybe, there ways in a world that will lead us to despair. And in that way, the are days I can be proud of, maybe. lament psalms are actually praise as well. They aren’t joyful, certainly. But singing lament songs, fights back against despair. Well, I say that. Then I am confronted a couple of years ago with the story of Sadiq. Sadiq is a young man who works with relief The music we play in our worship services and the songs we sing teams in Fallujah, Iraq. Fallujah is where numerous ISIS captives are a testimony we make. The world doesn’t have the last word. have been held. It’s also a place where numerous refugees have The hopeful expectation of Advent. The laments of . come. There isn’t enough food or water for everyone. None of The realized joy of Christmas and Easter mornings. These are all what I am preaching on today is hypothetical for Sadiq. You see he ways we fight against the despair of this world. And if we are watched on YouTube as ISIS beheaded an Iraqi security officer. really lucky, we might mature to the faiths of Abraham, Job, Paul, That officer was Sadiq’s friend. He lost someone dear to him to the Jesus, Sadiq. To praise God with our lives no matter the hands of ISIS, but remember how I started this story, Sadiq works circumstances, to not connect the level of their faith to the level of with the relief teams. He and the teams crossed many lines and their blessing. To honor God where God is, for who God is, and even angered people when they gave water and aid packets to the with every instrument in my music bag, captured ISIS soldiers. In a room meant to hold 40, 600 men were receiving aid packets. While it was happening, one security man Wherever you are in your journey of faith, you can probably find came in the room and said, “If I had my way none of you would yourself in the psalms journey of faith. And the good news is, you get ANYTHING!!” Then there was Sadiq who stood up and said, have a God who will meet you there, who will receive your praise, “You killed my friend. But I’ve come to feed you.” “You killed my in whatever form is comes, lament or joy, A God who wants you to friend. But I’ve come to feed you.” One of men on the relief team know that you never need to despair. Praise the Lord. saw this and said, “ISIS beheads and burns its enemies. That’s why we must feed and clothe ours.”