Y’all, the Messiah came to live in the midst of a fallen world, a painful and gloomy place, a place that literally felt like the Old Testament metaphor of “the wine ran out”. And in the midst of that, Jesus performed a miracle that absolutely shouted and screamed out…”the wine is still here; the wine is overflowing; and you’re invited to enjoy it.” YOU…are invited to enjoy it.
I wonder, have you had the kind of amazing moments I have described? I wonder, have you had the kind of amazing moments the Israelites had? I wonder, do you WANT to have those kinds of moments – those moments in which you feel like dancing….and singing…and playing instruments…and praising God with all you’ve got? Do you want to have those kinds of moments?
My friends, Psalm 150, this great psalm of doxology, this psalm that reminds us to praise God over and again, this Psalm 150 is a reminder to us that all our lives are made to praise God differently! And while the ways of the world might tell us to allow those differences to divide us, to cause us to think, to BELIEVE, that one way of praising God is better than another, and that the better way is OUR way, the reality is that the way of blessing is to praise God in whatever way YOU are inclined to praise God and to both allow and encourage every other to praise God in whatever way EACH is inclined to praise God.
Now, I want to give you a chance to experience what those Israelites experienced…because Psalms of Salvation History don’t have to be confined to the past; they don’t have to be confined to the Old Testament or to the book of the Psalms. God has been working amazing deeds for Christians, for US, for thousands of years. And we can write and recite Psalms of Salvation History in OUR time as we prepare for the future God has in store for us.