Sometimes you have to employ a little creative subterfuge in order to abide by Psalm 146’s injunction to praise the Lord as long as you live.
Psalm 146 was written maybe 2,600 years ago. It is part of what is known as the “Crescendo of Praise” at the end of the Book of Psalms.
The fact that the ancients decided that the final chapter in a book that includes hymns and poems of lament, grief, anger with God, Psalms of great comfort and assurance, decided to conclude with praise indicates that they thought “praise” is the essence of it all.
There are two kinds of people: “whiners” and there are “praisers.” There are people who can’t let go of, or stop whining, talking about what’s wrong with the weather, the auto industry, the music, the restaurant meal . . . what’s lacking, what is sure to go wrong tomorrow.
And there are people who are so hopeful and grateful for what is, whatever it is, that they live in a different world, a new and better world.
The psalm directs us to acknowledge that God is our creator, the source of our lives, the giver and sustainer of our existence. We are warned not to put too much trust in the prince, the politician, the political ideology.
We are directed to open our minds to the existence of a supreme being and to lift up our hearts and voices in joyful praise. The awesome Lord of creation is not hiding in a temple, on a mountaintop, but busy, at work in the world, on behalf of the weak and vulnerable.
Dr. Willy L Mafuta Pastor,
Hopewell United Methodist Church, Hopewell, NJ 08525