Breathless!

“Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For He commanded and they were created.
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which will not pass away.

Praise the LORD from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged fowl;
Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above earth and heaven.
And He has lifted up a horn for His people,
Praise for all His godly ones;
Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.

Praise the LORD!”
—Psalm 148

Read that again, but slower this time.

There are many songs that are written because the songwriter was paid to write songs, and their scheduled “songwriting” block of time had arrived. So, they sat down and wrote. Many fabulous songs are written during these times.

But some songs. The songs that pierce your soul. The ones that drive you to your knees. They are often written during a different time. These songs don’t wait for a schedule. They refuse to be contained by some pre-set timeframe. They swell within the writer’s gut. They build. Gather steam. They rumble. They churn. Until they finally explode. The songwriter can’t not stop and write them down. Not as an idea, but as raw emotion.

As a musician, before performing a song, I try to crawl inside the mind of the songwriter at the moment he wrote the song. “What was he feeling? Why did he say it this way? Why did he repeat that?” I try to imagine the emotion flowing through his pen. I strive to tap into that emotion. At that point, my singing ceases being performance, and becomes a journey.

When I apply that method to the Psalms, they come alive.

In this Psalm, the Psalmist starts with his unbridled exclamation, “Praise the LORD!” and builds from there.

Who should praise the LORD?

He starts a list:

Angels. Stars. Skies.
Weather. Mountains.
Sea creatures. Animals.
Kings. All people.

It’s like the writer is trying to call roll on the entire universe…

He seems almost breathless as he squeezes his mind to include all of creation. As if to say, Don’t miss anything… don’t forget anyone… everything must praise Him.

The Psalmist is consumed by God’s power, magnitude, and worthiness. He calls on all created things – animate and inanimate – to offer praise to their creator.

Including us.

Possibly, especially us.

Everything else in God’s universe functions exactly as God intended. Angels, stars, sky, weather, mountains, animals… they offer praise to God simply by doing exactly what they were created to do.

But people.

We stubbornly refuse to acknowledge Him in our everyday lives. We go through most of our days as if we were the ones in control of the outcome. We turn to Him only when we run out of options.

This Psalm calls me back to the center. It reminds me that there is a current that flows throughout creation. Everything owes its existence to Almighty God. Every breath is a gift. I am reminded that it is right and appropriate that I should be praising God with every breath.

Then his final, “Praise the LORD!” is less conclusion than release.

I sense him falling back into his chair as he completes that line… exhausted.

And I am reminded of Jesus words,

“I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” —Luke 19:40

I am determined not to be less vocal than a rock.

Praise the LORD!

Lord,
Don’t let my life fall silent.
Teach me to praise You with every breath.
Amen.