Still Singing

December 30

(Psalm 149:1-9 NIV) "Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. {2} Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. {3} Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. {4} For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation. {5} Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. {6} May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, {7} to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, {8} to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, {9} to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord."

Praise the Lord! It seems fitting to close out this year in the Psalms with songs of praise. Today’s song begins with “Praise the Lord” and ends with “Praise the Lord”. We began the year with praise and we end the year with praise. We praise Him because He has given us a new song. We praise Him because He delights in His people and pours out His mercy on us. We praise Him because He crowns us with salvation. We sing in the assembly and we sing on our beds. Our praise is both worship to God and a sign to unbelievers that judgment is coming. This is the double edged sword of God’s truth -- grace to the humble, but a warning to the proud. A day is coming when all things will be revealed. We stand before the Lord clothed in the robes of Christ or naked in our sin. We will be found singing or sinning. It’s your choice. Choose His music. Praise the Lord! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day