“Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let the godly exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
to execute on them the judgment written!
This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the Lord!” Psalm 149:1-9
Make Music to Him (Psalm 149)
I have an amazing niece who had an interesting request for Christmas last year – she wanted a real (not toy) tambourine. When we asked her why, she replied matter-of-factly, “To praise the Lord!” Oh, if we were all a little more like her!
If you haven’t known me long, you may not know that I lead worship at my church with my husband who is a worship arts pastor. My daughter is a singer on our worship team, and when my son is not at college, he plays the keyboard for us. Obviously, music and worship is a big part of our lives, yet I still forget to rejoice and make music to God.
Stir Up the Joy
I forget the importance of stirring up joy inside myself at the thought of God’s attributes and His gifts and mercies to me. I don’t remember to be consistently thankful and filled with delight during my daily life. Instead, I get wrapped up in the day-to-day responsibilities. I am often consumed with my to-do list and go about sighing with the weight of all that has yet to be accomplished.
Called to Rejoice
However, we are called to rejoice!
“Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!” Psalm 149:1-3
This Psalm uses words like “rejoice”, “be glad”, “exult”, and “sing for joy”. We are supposed to be finding our joy not in the things of this world, but in the God who created them. Not in the people around us but in the One who fashioned them and brought them into our lives. We are to turn our thoughts to Him and be spurred on to “Praise the Lord!”
Why should we be glad?
Why? Because He finds joy in us – His creation!
“For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.” Psalm 149:4
God “takes pleasure” in us! Wow! Think about that. We routinely disregard Him, put other things above Him in priority, and sin against Him, and yet, He still delights in us! That alone should make us be glad!
Action Step:
Turn on some worship music, put a smile on your face, and get up! Sing and dance with joy to the Lord! If you play an instrument (like my niece with her tambourine), play it with gladness in your Creator! Let’s sprinkle moments of rejoicing in God throughout our day, each day this week! Even if it is singing in the car (or the shower) at the top of our lungs, dancing a short jig on the way through an empty hallway, or pausing in the middle of everything to tell God how much you enjoy Him for who He is… let’s begin to build a habit of making music to Him in our spirits!
Prayer:
Dear God, Thank you for finding joy in us even when we do not deserve it. Help me to remember to find my joy in You every single day! Remind me to take those moments to enjoy who You are and be glad in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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