Psalm 98 Make a Joyful Noise

 

Observation: One of my favorite psalms of praise to God. Sing God a new song. Make a joyful noise. Join the whole world, even the creation itself, in the praise of God's victory. 

Application: I miss being able to sing in church. Being a pastor, I have had to be the one to break many pieces of bad news to members of my congregation this year, but one of the hardest has been that singing together indoors just is not safe. I'm not sure where people get the idea that church leaders, because we are the face of hard decisions, somehow relish making them. That's silly. It is the nature of being an adult to make decisions you aren't fond of and stick to them because they're the right thing to do. I miss singing as much as anyone. I can't wait to get back to it. I am pretty sure every song we sing will sound like a "new song" when we are able to start congregational singing again. 

But the "new song" for me today comes in the closing verses of Psalm 98: "let the sea roar and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy..." The new song is the song we can tune into when human voices keep their peace for once, and understand that God's creation gives God praise nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Jesus proclaimed that if his followers fell silent, the very rocks would cry out. This verse began to hold special meaning for me when Michi-Lu-Ca, the camp where I met and married my wife, closed for good. We who had known it as a special place remembered that the rocks on that land would take the watch from here, and continue to lift up praises. 

If you miss singing as much as I do, drive on down to the sleeping bear dunes. Listen to the waves. Hear the wind whipping through the last few autumn leaves. Tune into the song of the birds as they prepare for a long trek south. Then maybe sing a bar or two in the fresh air, and give thanks that we are part of a larger song than any of us cares to notice most of the time. 

Prayer: God, we praise you and adore you. Not just us humans. All of us. Help us to listen to one another's voices in the quieter moments. Amen.