April 8: Psalm 96

(Posted on behalf of Pastor Scott.)

April 8, 2010
Psalm 96 The power of Praise

She saw King David dancing and celebrating.
Sing to him, sing praise to him.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad.

One morning at breakfast, a father decided to teach his four-year-old son his first Bible verse--John 3:16. The father slowly enunciated the words: "For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
The second time he said the verse even slower, encouraging his son to fill in certain words. When he got to "... shall not perish but have everlasting [blank]," the son proudly answered, "fun!"
We see David having fun in our reading today. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to its new location and in the process David has a great time. He is enjoying and celebrating his God. This is actually the reason we were created. God created us to spend eternity glorifying and enjoying him forever. Every day we are given the opportunity to start the eternal process early. The interesting way that this works is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. There was no lack of intensity in David’s celebration; he danced, celebrated, and had a praise band playing. This exalting and glorifying of God fulfilled the deepest longings in David’s heart.

So enjoy our God today. Plan some time to worship, praise, celebrate, and dance before our God. It is actually your "duty" to enjoy God. And in doing our "duty" we will find the deepest level of satisfaction known to the human heart.

A story about the power of praise comes from the life of Catherine Dubois who lived in Ulster County, New York. She is the 8th great grandmother of the Christian writer Gilbert Beers.
She had strong faith even in the midst of life's greatest storm. One day in 1663 the Minnisink Indians swept down from the Catskill Mountains and killed several settlers. They also took several women and children captive. Among them were Catherine and her infant daughter Sara.
After 10 weeks, the Indians, thinking they had avoided reprisal, decided to celebrate their success by putting Catherine and her baby daughter Sara to death by fire. They placed the captives on a pile of logs and lit the torch to ignite them.

Instead of screaming at her tormentors and cursing them or God, for her plight, Catherine DuBois burst into song! It was a hymn based on Psalm 137. The Indians were so taken by her bravery and by the song itself that they demanded another song, then another. And while Catherine was still singing, her husband and a search party burst upon the scene and rescued her.

Don't think this story is farfetched when applied to our lives in 2010. Everyday we also face "fires" that threaten to consume us. In these situations if we sing, hum, whistle or add a little humor, we can extinguish the flames of a dispute or a bit of tension in the home and work place.
My wife’s grandmother Oli was constantly humming and singing and this praise music had a surprising power to defuse life’s crises and problems. So your homework today is to hum and praise God as you do your work. Enjoy your God on April 8th.