May 16, 2021 “Pulling Out All the Stops” Psalm 150 Central Christian Church David A. Shirey

Psalm 150 pulls out all the stops. I’m going to have Elizabeth read it. But before she does, I want to note a few things about this last and grandest Psalm. For instance, it’s an eight exclamation mark Psalm. Eight exclamation marks in six verses! My seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Booth, would have said something about the overuse of that punctuation mark. If everything is an exclamation mark, then all you’re doing is shouting, the grammatical equivalent of ALL CAPS in an email or text. Nonetheless, Psalm 150 has eight exclamation marks. And the word praise thirteen times. Mrs. Booth would have suggested using synonyms rather than the same word. Acclaim. Extol. Worship. Glorify. Laud. Honor. Adore. Revere. But nonetheless, the word is praise... thirteen times. And to accompany the word praise thirteen times with eight exclamation marks the Psalmist strikes up the band, includes every instrument in the ancient orchestra: Trumpet. Lute. Harp. Tambourine. Strings. Pipe. Clanging Cymbals. Loud clashing cymbals. If you’re going to pull out all the stops, then them pull them out. Every instrument. Fortissimo. And if every instrument playing praise followed by eight exclamation marks is not enough, the Psalmist adds, “Dance.” “Praise God with tambourine and dance.” When you’re in the presence of the Living God in the holy sanctuary you can’t just sit there, hands folded, blank stare, body settling into rigor mortis. The Psalmist shouts, “Shall we dance?” Well, have I set the stage? Whetted your appetite for what to listen for in Psalm 150? 8 exclamation marks. 13 praises. Every instrument. Dance, dance, dance. Pull out all the stops. Now I invite you to stand. Elizabeth, would you read us Psalm 150? Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty firmament! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! Before you sit down-- Grant, I want you to do me a favor. Since the Psalmist invites every instrument to contribute to the orchestra of exclamation mark praise and since we’re focusing on the organ this month, renovating and enhancing it to accompany our singing God’s praise, would you indulge us by playing a loud-clashing-cymbal- pulling-out-all-the-stops organ piece to accompany Psalm 150? Have at it. Grant plays Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor1. You may be seated. Now that wasn’t the theme from some B-list horror movie or a Halloween party soundtrack. That was the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). That piece is but 1 of the 1,000+ pieces of music J.S. Bach composed across his 65 years of life, music he composed for Sunday morning worship at the churches he served as Director of Music. He wrote a different cantata every Sunday. And to each of them, when complete, he would affix three letters. Not J.S.B. (Johann Sebastian Bach), but S. D. G. Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone be the glory. And what glorious music Bach composed to be played on the organ to accompany worship in the Lord’s House on the Sabbath undergirding the congregation’s singing and the choir’s anthems. In homage to Bach’s genius, Douglas Adams wrote, “Beethoven tells you what it's like to be Beethoven and Mozart tells you what it's like to be human. Bach tells you what it's like to be the universe.” Which raises the question: Why an organ to praise God? It is possible, after all, to praise God a cappella. With no instrumental accompaniment whatsoever. Our Church of Christ brothers and sisters do it week in and week out as a matter of principle. They say, “You ‘instrumental Christians’ allow instruments to become a crutch for you to the point that you let the instruments and choir sing and you don’t.” And they may have a point. But the point of an organ (and any instrument used in worship and a choir) is not to take the place of the congregation but to undergird, uplift and magnify our voices. Add a few exclamation marks. Set some notes dancing around the notes we’re singing. The thing about an organ is that it is the instrument that encompasses all other instruments and is most able to approximate the human voice. Mozart didn’t call it “the King of Instruments” for nothing. Our renovated and enhanced organ will have pipes capable of voicing the sounds of everything from piccolo and flute to French horn and trumpet, violin to clarinet, bassoon and tuba. Oompah! One guy, after hearing the highest and lowest notes of an organ, said it has sounds “from earthquake to mosquito and everything in between.” And a whole section of pipes appropriately called “the choir.” As the Psalmist puts it: “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.” You know the old favorite “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” Think “O for a thousand pipes to sing my great Redeemer’s praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace.” 2,000 pipes comprising an orchestra of instruments to undergird and uplift the instrument that is the human voice. Nothing invites wholehearted, full-throated, sing- from-deep-down-in-the-diaphragm praise than a pipe organ. But listen, I hasten to add this: An organ is not just for the magnifying of our voices in praise to God, but also for the magnifying of our lives in service to others. If our worship of God on Sunday doesn’t inspire and direct our service to neighbors near and far Monday through Saturday, our praise is incomplete. Half-baked. 50% done. And when I as in school, 50% is an F. Praise as called forth in the Scriptures is worship of God leading to service to others. Both. Here’s to the hope that a renovated and enhanced

1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY organ will be accompanied by a renewed and deepened commitment to outreach and service, mercy and justice, compassion and righteousness. The Great Commandment, after all, is to love God and neighbor. Worship driven by an organ ought lead to lives driven by selflessness and generosity. Which made me think this week. I’m just wondering out loud. Wouldn't it be fitting, wonderfully right-- If we surpass our goal for the organ, what if we designate the money over and above our goal for the establishment of an Endowment for Outreach? The earnings each year would be directed to blessing others near and far. Thanks to the gift of a generous donor, we’ll have a fund established for the maintenance of this organ and all Central’s instruments in perpetuity. How about establishing a fund to maintain and expand outreach in perpetuity? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if decades down the pike, as succeeding generations recall their forebears at Central who lived in the early part of the 21st century, way back in the 20s, they said something like, “Yep, those faithful souls came out of the pandemic resolved to do two things: worship God and serve others. So they pulled out all the stops, dug deeply, gave generously, renovated and enhanced the instrument that has undergirded and magnified the worship of generations beyond their lifetime and at the same time they established an Outreach Endowment that has annually blessed others over- and-above the annual Outreach budget.” May it be said, “Those folks back in 2020 were a Great Commandment congregation. They loved God and loved others. They gifted us with an organ and an instrument by which to expand our outreach as well.” Oh, I might get carried away now... Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise God with organ and outreach!

Grant plays opening notes of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!

Let all God’s people say AMEN.