Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Psalm 147 continues the final crescendo of praise that takes us to the end of the Book of Psalms. Like the previous psalm, and the next three, it begins and ends with “Hallelujah”, which means “Praise the Lord!”
Writing about his journey toward praise, American teacher and blogger Alan Jacobs says,
. . . a lot of people [are] doing good work to expose the absurdities, the hypocrisies, and the sheer destructiveness of both the Left and the Right. I myself did . . . that work for several years, but I’m not inclined to keep doing it . . . because that work of critique, however necessary, lacks a constructive dimension. There has to be something better we can do than curse our enemies—or the darkness or the present moment. If . . . this is indeed a time to build, then what can I build? (Jacobs, Alan. “The Homebound Symphony”. Web blog post. Snakes and Ladders. 15 January 2022. Accessed 18 January 2022.)
Jacobs describes his new direction:
I want to find what is wise and good and beautiful and true and pass along to my readers as much of it as I can. (Jacobs, Alan). He says his work now is “all about praise and delight” (Jacobs, Alan).
There’s that word “praise” which Jacobs shares with Psalm 147.
Let’s pray.
Our father, we focus too much on our enemies, thinking how to avoid their traps. We focus too much on money, preserving and growing our riches. We read too much news, fixating on what’s wrong with the world. We introspect, working out what we’ve got wrong and right.
Today, Lord, we focus on you. We are amazed by the person you are and the world you made and the life you give us and the people you created.
You teach us love and faithfulness. The love we find in family and community is a small taste of your great love. We see your faithfulness in the world you made, where gravity always pulls down and trees grow up, where the moon bids tides to ebb and flow, where mountains stand immovable. Our home, this world, gives us food and shelter and comfort, that lead us to our home in you.
We praise you that you speak to us. Scripture tells us that you are love and light and spirit, a consuming fire. We praise you for speaking to us though Jesus, who walked on earth, and died on a cross, and said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Beyond the conundrums of life and the mystery of the universe, you offer us not answers but yourself. We praise you that in Jesus you walk with us and you promise to be our friend through life and death and life everlasting.
O God, we have doubts but we hold them loosely. We have questions but we lean into mystery. We have complaints but we lift a voice of praise. With the poet we say, “Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.”
Amen
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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