Praise Him, Praise Him

Psalm 131, 132, [133] • Psalm 134, 135
Num. 23:11-26 • Rom. 8:1-11 • Matt. 22:1-14

“Praise Him, Praise Him, All ye little children. God is love. God is love.”* I can still remember, as a small child, singing this in Vacation Bible School. We, no doubt, had hand motions to accompany our young voices and there was some rhythmic swaying going on as well. It was so easy, then, to Praise God for all things as I joyfully attended Daily VBS, memorized Bible verses, made sock monkeys and drank sugary fruit punch. 

What about now? How easy is it to Praise God for all things in the midst of a global pandemic that is sickening and killing so many people? Can we “Praise Him” as we Americans, once again, struggle to dismantle racism and reconcile past and present suffering?

Psalm 135 calls on us to Praise God in the first verse, the last verse and most verses in between. There are no conditional phrases. The Psalmist does not say “Praise the Lord IF everything is going your way.” We “who serve the Lord” (verse 1) are instructed to “Praise His name” because of His goodness (v. 3), His greatness (v. 5), and perhaps most importantly, because He is God (v. 6). 

In the midst of the uncertainty and confusion of this time, let us call out to God in Praise, “because you are awesome, and a wonder-worker. You are God. Just you.” (Psalm 86:10). 

* Music: Carey Bonner (1859-1938). Hymn Code: 1135671653

Written by Barbara Batson

Barbara is thankful for the ongoing ministries and community witness of St. Paul’s.