Writing a post on Psalm 148 should be easy: Everything praises God.
And when I say everything, I means everything.
First it is everything in the heavens and skies. The angels, armies of heaven, and the sun, moon, and stars. This is followed by everything on earth, be it on land or from the ocean’s depths.
And that is it.
It is almost set up to be like one of those, “We’ve got spirit!” chants, only this time it is the heavens praising, followed by the earth, and then sending it back to the heavens who praise with even more enthusiasm. The echoing rings on into eternity.
There really isn’t more to it.
So why is this post going up a full eight days late?
Why Isn’t It Easy?
Sure some of it has to do with busyness at work and in life. But even more, it is about me struggling to find something to say.
Part of that is because, all too often, we fail to see or hear the praise in others. So when the Psalm points to “kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth,” as those participating in the praise I cannot help but think, “Really?”
At another level it sinks back to my Lutheran roots and the idea that you have to talk about Law and Gospel, with the Law condemning us so the Gospel can give life. If everything just praises, is there any Law to declare?
As I sit here I try to remind myself I no longer believe that. I point back to that day in the late summer of 2015 when it struck me that God is relentlessly loving. The day when it finally clicked that God’s holiness does not prompt God to pull away from us but drawing close to sinful people is what makes God holy. But something resists, can it really be that simple?
Is it really just that we are beloved? Could it be that everything is just praise? Can it really be that easy?
According to Easter, yes.