Psalm 103:22

Psalm 103:22

Praise the Lord, my soul

We come to the end of this glorious Psalm with heavy hearts, well at least I do! It has been such a refreshing journey from the moment we started commanding our souls to “Praise the Lord”, to the exploration of God’s nature, to the reminder of human mortality and that God’s Kingdom is over all. Personal, private worship has expanded to a vision of praise that includes all creation; even those heavenly creatures, who we have not yet seen, have been encouraged to join in the praises of the Lord. It’s as if David wants the whole of the universe to join together in extolling the greatness of our God, in fact that’s exactly what this last verse commands. “Praise the Lord, all His works everywhere in His dominion.” A similar heart cry comes up in Psalm 96:11-13 where all creation is encouraged to rejoice before the Lord. Why? Because He comes, “He comes to judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.”

The above statement might strike fear and trepidation into the hearts of many but for those who love the Lord it is the sweetest promise. We see the wickedness of the world and the futility of men’s ways. We see the destruction we have brought upon the planet, and we listen daily to the lies and the propaganda of the Satan as he manipulates the rulers and philosophers of this world. Does your heart not cry out, “Come Lord? Come and end this insanity. Come and restore truth and righteousness. Come and judge the wicked. Come and restore beauty and order and goodness. Liberate creation, reign over us so that we may live in a world that is run as You created it to be.” And then all His works will praise Him.

Oh, and the Psalm ends with a little personal footnote to remind us of our part in all of this, “Praise the Lord, my soul!” Hallelujah!

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