Living Praise - by david crowder
Psalm 50 (the message)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2050;&version=65;
In junior high, i was quite teh jokester. Now i am quite dull, but back then i had routines. WEll-rehearsed lines that were sure to retrieve a few chuckles from my classmates. One of my favorite bits was as follows:
First i wold spot a group of peers. THe larger the better. No less than seven. They were required to be in a disorganised clump but close enough in proximity to one another for the unaided human voice to reach each individual.
Once i spotted the proper environment i would then project my voice with a weight of importance, indicating the necessity of promptness in response. Some phrases that might be used were "Hey, come here." "EVeryone. Pay attention. Over here." "Come close!" "Closer." "Really. Everyone lean in." "Quiet now. Listen." "I have something to say." After i had ensured complete silence and every eye was locked to mine, i would wait. I would silently look from person to person to person with a slightly approving grin. Inevitably, someone's patience would cease and he or she would say, "What?!" in a raised, aggravated tone. In response, i would allow the grin to grow, to creeep over my face, blooming into full smile. Then I, with utmost timing, would unleach the punch line: "I just wanted to be the center of attention."
Of course, then I would receive punches and some small amount of verbal abuse, but it was so worth it. I was always worth it. It never got old. Everytime I executed it with passion, and everytime they fell for it. The story of some boy crying wolf was lost on me. The moral never hit home. I was sure that this bo doing the crying wasn't passionate enough. He never sold it. I, on the other hand, could sell it everytime.
Psalm 50 starts with what must be one of the grandest statements of history. GOD informs us that He is about to speak. And if there is confusion about which god, well it's God the God of gods - GOD. You know, Caps Lock GOD. I'm pretty sure no other gods get the Caps Lock key. When Caps Lock happens it indicates a translating o fthe personal name of God. THe one revealed to Moses at teh burning bush. You will see it in some translations as LORD. Caps Lock. Caps Lock GOD doesn't show up to make a meek request, "Um, Excuse me. Uh, okay, I'm about to say a few things, if I could have your attention please." No, this is not what happens. His entrance is huge!! He speak - no, shouts - "Earth!" Whoa. The hair on the back of my neck just stood up. THis voice could split you apart. GOD shows up shining, scattering glitterd beams everywhere, His magnificent splendor on display. THe whole of the Heavens are summoned. All of the cosmos is at attention. This is HUGE! It is our Creator who is about to speak. The One who started this all is about to open His mouth as judge.
He starts the proceedings with good news. He states that He doesn't find fault with Israel's blood sacrifices. But then He begins to question. He asks why He should want them? Did He not create teh bull and the goat? DO we think He is hungry and in need of them to feast on? Is He thirsty and the thing fit to quench such thirst is the blood of a freshly slain lamb? THen after this rhetorical line of questioning, He makes what i think could be a defining statement for our understanding of praise. The sacrifice Caps Lock GOD is looking for....praise.
What? Isn't that like calling us all together to say, "Hey, I just wanted to be the center of attention"? Let me try to reframe GOD's address and perhaps make it cut a little more for our moment.
"I don't find fault with your singing of songs. But do you think I'm in great need of music? Do you think it is too quiet where I am? Did I not make the air molecules to vibrate and dance in such a way to let melody float from here to there? DO you think I am in great need of hearing these songs that were my breathings in the first place?"
We may argue, "Isn't that praise? Songs = Praise, right?" I think they're more like burnt offerings. The good news is that GOD doesn't find fault with our song offerings. THere's nothing wrong with them. In fact, they can be beautiful expressions. But often they're nothing more than ritual, and at their worstthey can even be provoking to GOD. Well then, what is He looking for? What is this praise He's after? It is Praise Living. It is GOD leaning in and shouting, " I am the center!" and the sum of our lives nodding back in agreement. It is the core of our hearts echoing this statement. THe difference between my juvenile prank and teh statement GOD makes is that He speaks the facts. He is not begging to be the center - He is the center. He is the source. Our songs might verbalise and echo that at times, but so what? It is the nuts and bolts of our living that indicate if we really think this is truth. I would be so bold as to say eating barbeque and wearing the sauce on your fingers and face and a grin as big as Texas with the knowledge that Caps Lock GOD is at the centre of this can be truer praise than belting this "song ritual" that we have elevated to dangerous heights.
According to this psalm, even the simplicity of calling out to Him in times of trouble is considered the truer sacrifice. How surprising is that? And how easy? Higher than our ritual is the simple acknowledgement that, in truth, He is what we need. We, like the Israelites, often find rescue in the burnt offering and not in the GOD who is the source of it all. WE find comfort in the song and not in the Comforter. It is a subtle but necessary shift. It is more difficult to find the Creator in a barbeque sandwich than in your favorite Sunday-morning song, but WHEN you do, when you begin to find Him in all the stuff of life, everything starts singing. Every moment breaks into song. Every breath becomes sacrifice, and the songs become sweetness. This is Living Praise
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2050;&version=65;
In junior high, i was quite teh jokester. Now i am quite dull, but back then i had routines. WEll-rehearsed lines that were sure to retrieve a few chuckles from my classmates. One of my favorite bits was as follows:
First i wold spot a group of peers. THe larger the better. No less than seven. They were required to be in a disorganised clump but close enough in proximity to one another for the unaided human voice to reach each individual.
Once i spotted the proper environment i would then project my voice with a weight of importance, indicating the necessity of promptness in response. Some phrases that might be used were "Hey, come here." "EVeryone. Pay attention. Over here." "Come close!" "Closer." "Really. Everyone lean in." "Quiet now. Listen." "I have something to say." After i had ensured complete silence and every eye was locked to mine, i would wait. I would silently look from person to person to person with a slightly approving grin. Inevitably, someone's patience would cease and he or she would say, "What?!" in a raised, aggravated tone. In response, i would allow the grin to grow, to creeep over my face, blooming into full smile. Then I, with utmost timing, would unleach the punch line: "I just wanted to be the center of attention."
Of course, then I would receive punches and some small amount of verbal abuse, but it was so worth it. I was always worth it. It never got old. Everytime I executed it with passion, and everytime they fell for it. The story of some boy crying wolf was lost on me. The moral never hit home. I was sure that this bo doing the crying wasn't passionate enough. He never sold it. I, on the other hand, could sell it everytime.
Psalm 50 starts with what must be one of the grandest statements of history. GOD informs us that He is about to speak. And if there is confusion about which god, well it's God the God of gods - GOD. You know, Caps Lock GOD. I'm pretty sure no other gods get the Caps Lock key. When Caps Lock happens it indicates a translating o fthe personal name of God. THe one revealed to Moses at teh burning bush. You will see it in some translations as LORD. Caps Lock. Caps Lock GOD doesn't show up to make a meek request, "Um, Excuse me. Uh, okay, I'm about to say a few things, if I could have your attention please." No, this is not what happens. His entrance is huge!! He speak - no, shouts - "Earth!" Whoa. The hair on the back of my neck just stood up. THis voice could split you apart. GOD shows up shining, scattering glitterd beams everywhere, His magnificent splendor on display. THe whole of the Heavens are summoned. All of the cosmos is at attention. This is HUGE! It is our Creator who is about to speak. The One who started this all is about to open His mouth as judge.
He starts the proceedings with good news. He states that He doesn't find fault with Israel's blood sacrifices. But then He begins to question. He asks why He should want them? Did He not create teh bull and the goat? DO we think He is hungry and in need of them to feast on? Is He thirsty and the thing fit to quench such thirst is the blood of a freshly slain lamb? THen after this rhetorical line of questioning, He makes what i think could be a defining statement for our understanding of praise. The sacrifice Caps Lock GOD is looking for....praise.
What? Isn't that like calling us all together to say, "Hey, I just wanted to be the center of attention"? Let me try to reframe GOD's address and perhaps make it cut a little more for our moment.
"I don't find fault with your singing of songs. But do you think I'm in great need of music? Do you think it is too quiet where I am? Did I not make the air molecules to vibrate and dance in such a way to let melody float from here to there? DO you think I am in great need of hearing these songs that were my breathings in the first place?"
We may argue, "Isn't that praise? Songs = Praise, right?" I think they're more like burnt offerings. The good news is that GOD doesn't find fault with our song offerings. THere's nothing wrong with them. In fact, they can be beautiful expressions. But often they're nothing more than ritual, and at their worstthey can even be provoking to GOD. Well then, what is He looking for? What is this praise He's after? It is Praise Living. It is GOD leaning in and shouting, " I am the center!" and the sum of our lives nodding back in agreement. It is the core of our hearts echoing this statement. THe difference between my juvenile prank and teh statement GOD makes is that He speaks the facts. He is not begging to be the center - He is the center. He is the source. Our songs might verbalise and echo that at times, but so what? It is the nuts and bolts of our living that indicate if we really think this is truth. I would be so bold as to say eating barbeque and wearing the sauce on your fingers and face and a grin as big as Texas with the knowledge that Caps Lock GOD is at the centre of this can be truer praise than belting this "song ritual" that we have elevated to dangerous heights.
According to this psalm, even the simplicity of calling out to Him in times of trouble is considered the truer sacrifice. How surprising is that? And how easy? Higher than our ritual is the simple acknowledgement that, in truth, He is what we need. We, like the Israelites, often find rescue in the burnt offering and not in the GOD who is the source of it all. WE find comfort in the song and not in the Comforter. It is a subtle but necessary shift. It is more difficult to find the Creator in a barbeque sandwich than in your favorite Sunday-morning song, but WHEN you do, when you begin to find Him in all the stuff of life, everything starts singing. Every moment breaks into song. Every breath becomes sacrifice, and the songs become sweetness. This is Living Praise
