Sing Praise to the Lord - Part V

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” ~Psalm 103:1-2

Over the past 350 years, Christians have used the words of Joachim Neander’s famous hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (53) to encourage themselves and one another to worship Almighty God, the very reason we gather each Lord’s Day at Christ Covenant Church.

This week, I want us to meditate on the three-dimensional exhortation to praise the Lord found in this hymn. First is the self-ward dimension: “O my soul, praise Him… O let all that is in me adore Him!” We must first remind ourselves that God has personally blessed us in His “goodness and mercy” toward us. We can’t help others put on their oxygen masks until we’ve first donned our own. Brothers and sisters, let us rouse ourselves first of all to praise the Lord for all He is and all He has done.

Second is the others-focused dimension: We exhort one another to praise the Lord. In each verse there are implicit reminders — especially to fellow believers — of God’s work in sustaining, defending, ordaining, making, prospering, attending, and o’ershading them. In all of these realities, we are meant to encourage one another to remember (“ponder anew”) all that God has and will do for His people. Singing this hymn in the presence of fellow Christians helps us fulfill the apostle’s prompt to “address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Eph. 5:19).

Lastly, there is an evangelistic dimension to this song. We might call this the “rest-of-creation exhortation.” Christians aren’t the only ones in view in this hymn, are they? It addresses “all that hath life and breath” and “all ye who hear.” The phrase “if with His love He befriend thee” implies the need for some to become friends with God. Think about this for a moment: this hymn is sung with an aim that others would hear our joyful and exuberant praise, that anyone passing by our church on the Lord’s Day might “hear” and “to His temple draw near, join[ing us] in glad adoration!”

As we prepare for worship this Lord’s Day, let me ask you: have you pondered recently what God has done and will do for you who trust in Him? He has made you, defended you, sustained you, attended you in your time of need, and even spread His wings to o’ershade you in your seasons of grief. Do you long to “forever adore Him”? Let each of us arise this coming Sunday with a desire to exhort ourselves, others, and even the whole world to “join [us] in glad adoration” of the “King of Creation!”

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Associate Pastor