WORSHIP
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
STORY
Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century priest and monk who began the Protestant Reformation, understood the importance of worship. One motivation behind the Protestant Reformation was the desire to allow the laity to be active participants in the life of the church. This included translating the Bible from Latin into the native tongue of the people, which, for Luther, was German. It also meant that worship services would no longer be said in Latin, but presented in the common vernacular of the people.
Luther also believed in the importance of music as a part of the worship celebration. The reformer was a prolific hymnodist who regarded music as a meaningful avenue for spiritual enhancement and expression. Luther wrote hymns for all of the seasons of the liturgical year, as well as hymns on topics outlined in the catechism. In all, Luther wrote twenty-one hymns, with the best known being A Mighty Fortress is Our God.
The reason that Luther’s hymns have such a triumphant sound to them is because he wrote his hymns to correspond with German beer drinking songs. Since congregants were already familiar with the melody, they could then easily remember the words. This was especially important in a society were illiteracy prevailed. Regarding the importance of music for worship Luther wrote, “Next to the word of God, music deserves the highest praise. The gift of language combined with the gift of song was given to man that he should proclaim the word of God through music.”
DEVOTION
The Book of Psalms can be considered to be a hymnbook. These hymns were sung at various events in the life of the Hebrew people. The last hymn, Psalm 150, is known as a doxology. It was placed as the concluding hymn as an act of praise. It is exciting to realize that as we sing this doxology on earth the angels in heaven – the firmament – echo our praise; that is, the angels are singing along with us. The hymn is a true act of celebration as we are to dance as we sing it, accompanied by six instruments. There was to be no instrument left out, brass, string, wind, and percussion instruments must all join in the praise of a God that is so great. With these instruments of joy all of creation – everything that breathes – should sing to God’s glory. Then the hymn concludes, and the Book of Psalms concludes, with a halleluiah chorus – Praise the Lord!
By singing triumphant hymns, the type of hymns that were encouraged by Martin Luther, in the worship setting of the church, we shall be encouraged to go forth as individuals who can be called joyful and triumphant Christ-followers.
Private devotions in the sanctuary of one’s home provides serenity. The stillness of reflecting on God in the solitude of the woods is inspiring. But these experiences, as important and as meaningful as they are, still require one to belong to a worshipping community. To be fully empowered by the blessings of the Holy Spirit, we must be a member of a celebratory community.
A worshiping community is also a shalom community because the focus of all participants is on exalting the Lord. A worshiping community is also a discipleship community because the focus of all participants is on serving the Lord. To be a community of servants and a community that advocates for peace and harmony, our focus must always be on God.
President John Adams, the second President of the United States, who took office in 1797, described himself as “a church-going animal.” He and his wife Abigail believed so strongly in the importance of worship and how attendance at church could mold one’s morality and challenge an individual to Christian service that they attended worship twice each Sunday. This was not an exercise in doing what was expected in their New England Congregationalist community; but it was doing what they believed could instill within them the greatest spiritual enlightenment.
Let us then be “a church-going animal.”