Psalm 147: 1-9

Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry

I read this morning that the Bible says the phrase ‘Praise the Lord’ 250 times. There are also over 8,600 times of worship throughout Scripture. Those are not solely during times of celebration and ‘good’ things. In fact, if you’ve read the Bible…you know that there’s a lot of suffering. There’s a lot of disappointment and waiting. There’s evil and hate. From Genesis 3 all the way through to Revelation, sin runs rampant and destroys lives. Yet, there’s still praise and worship. Why? Because of the promise of sin’s defeat. The promise that ‘it is finished’. In Genesis three, in the same breath that sin is introduced into the world…the Lord responds with the promise of the One who will come and crush it. Hope is restored right after it’s lost.

This scripture builds my hope.
Hope in that the very same God that numbered and named the stars…the God that raised mountains, filled the seas, and separated the heavens from the earth. That same God-heals my broken heart and lifts me up. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Think about that. The stars-innumerable as they are-we can’t even see them all with even the most intricate telescope. The same God that numbered and named them all….He numbered and named you too. He cares for you. He hears the cry of your soul when your mouth can’t find the words and catches every tear. He heals your heart when it’s shattered.

On days of celebration and days of desperate sadness, He’s there.
And because of that…He deserves all praise and all worship.

Death is defeated friends. It IS finished. We just have to wait faithfully for Him to return and take us home.
And while we’re here……Praise the Lord.