WATCHWORD:
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
Meditation:
Psalm 151
In a recent conversation with a nephew, I was explaining that the Psalm following the last Psalm in the book, was our own personal Psalm. Psalm 150 is the last i the Book of Palms and that would make what I referred to as the “personal psalm” would be Psalm 151.
I was making the point that the track our faith takes is our personal Psalm, and that journey is one of praise and gratitude for the graces God has gifted to us. For me, I call this personal Psalm 151, The Psalm of Stan, or, in your case, The Psalm of (your name).
Now, to be completely forthcoming, there is a Psalm 151 that appears in the Septuagint, and was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, this so-called Psalm of David, does not appear in the Hebrew Bible nor in modern Biblical text.
I am not sure why it was omitted from the Bible and why it was considered of doubtful authenticity, even though it was thought to be true. The Psalm was written by David after his battle with Goliath, and assumes familiarity with and draws ideas and phrases from the Holy Scripture.
As you read the Psalm of David, note all the personal references that he lays out in prayerful form to the Lord. Also, note the gratitude expressed.
A Psalm of David
1 I was small among my brothers,
and the youngest in my father’s house;
I tended my father’s sheep.
2 My hands made a harp;
my fingers fashioned a lyre.
3 And who will tell my Lord?
The Lord Himself; it is He who hears.
4 It was He who sent His messenger
and took me from my father’s sheep,
and anointed me with His anointing oil.
5 My brothers were handsome and tall,
but the LORD was not pleased with them.
6 I went out to meet the Philistine,
and he cursed me by his idols.
7 But I drew his own sword;
I beheaded him, and took away disgrace from the people of Israel.
We all have a personal Psalm, reflecting our faith journey, one that is being written even as you read this. It is up to you to put into words what God has created in your life. How would you fashion your Psalm? What, among the full array of your life events and your relationship with the Lord, would you include in your Psalm? Were there specific and significant persons that helped shape the life you lead? Were there Goliaths that you conquered? Accomplishments that were attained with the help of God?
My personal Psalm looks a lot like a “blessings list”, and that is how it should be. We live a life of gratitude and praise for all the graces that have come from the Lord. It is only proper that we give all the glory, laude and honor to God. So be it.
Prayer for Guidance in our Faith:
We thank you that even though we have our own idea of how our life should look, often setting out according to our plans, that your ultimate purpose prevails. We ask that you prompt us when we set out to make plans, that we make them according to your will, and not our own. We ask that you remind us to come alongside you as we surrender every detail to fulfill your greater purpose. Please align our hearts with yours, our ideas with yours, and our will with yours. For your ways are higher than ours and your plans are greater than ours, and nothing is impossible with you. Lead us every step of the way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
