At my church in Mexico, we referred to Holy Saturday as
“Sábado de Gloria.” I love that phrase
and cannot think of a better way to connect the truths of Good Friday and
Easter Sunday than by this reminder of God’s glory. From Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to the
power of His resurrection, it really all begins and ends with God’s glory. The fact that we, who were once far off, have
been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:13) should lead us to
celebrate, and Psalm 150 is all about celebrating.
The psalm
focuses on one main idea: praising the Lord.
But this is not just a customary or commonplace praise, this is a praise
with all that is within us. In the first
verse, we notice that God is to be praised in His sanctuary and in His mighty
heavens. In his commentary on Psalms
73-150, Derek Kidner points out that, “His Glory fills the universe; His praise
must do no less.” Both heaven and earth
are called to worship the Lord. From the
angels in the heavens to the fish in the sea, and from infants to the elderly, all
creation is to praise the Lord.
We are then
instructed on why we are to praise the Lord.
We praise Him for His mighty deeds and all that He has done on our
behalf, especially the gift of our salvation.
Often, these prayers of gratitude come easily to us. We are thankful for the ways God’s blessed us
or for the gift of His beautiful creation.
However, we also worship the Lord according to His excellent greatness,
or simply for who He is. Sometimes, this
type of praise is harder for us. During
this Lenten and soon to be Easter season, may the Lord teach our hearts to slow
down and meditate on who He is.
As the
psalm continues, we learn how we are to praise God. We are to praise God with all that we are and
all that we have. Just as we are
commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with
all our might (Deuteronomy 6:5), we are also to praise the Lord with our whole
being. Through mentioning dancing and a
wide array of instruments, the psalmist shows us that our praise is not to be
passive but rather fervent and full of life.
Even in the repetitive structure and abundance of exclamation marks, we
can almost hear the crescendo effect that culminates in the declaration, “Let
everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!”
As you read
Psalm 150, don’t be surprised if your heart resounds with “Amen!” We were made to praise God, and we find our
fullest joy in doing so. In his Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis
says, “In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy him.” Sally Lloyd-Jones puts it even more simply in
her book Thoughts to Make Your Heart
Sing, “When God says ‘Glorify me!’, He’s really saying ‘Be filled with
joy!’ He knows it’s the thing your heart
most needs to be happy.” So today on
this “Sábado de Gloria,” may the Lord fill us with joy as we worship Him. Praise the Lord!
