Psalm 145 is a boisterous song, full of noisy, bright and bold colors!
There’s a lot of boasting, blessing, praising, shouting, and celebrating going on. It’s quite the party!
Psalm 145 paints a picture of thousands of people spreading the news about God’s greatness: his mighty acts, awesome works, and wondrous deeds! They’re literally bubbling over with joy as they celebrate God’s goodness! They’re singing like rock concert fans, loudly proclaiming how God has done right by them; how time and time again they’ve experienced God’s unending grace, mercy and compassion!
These people are celebrating this great and awesome God because he’s lifted up those who are regarded as not so great: the fallen, the lowly, those who have nowhere else to turn, who are dependent on him for their very lives.
This is the God who restores the broken, upholds the poor, watches over the defenseless, and makes things right where things have gone wrong!
Several centuries later, there was another song written about this same great and awesome God. It’s a song about how God refused to exploit his power and greatness; but instead assumed the form of a slave, washing his followers’ feet, and ultimately submitting to the humiliation of the cross.
And it’s in the name of this God—Jesus of Nazareth—that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that this crucified God, the chief servant of all, is also Lord of all!
Now that is grounds for a party!
Questions for reflection:
- Keep a daily list of places where God has shown grace, mercy, and compassion to you. Look for God’s activity in the most basic and ordinary parts of your life rhythm. It could be in relationships, events, or situations.
- At the end of week, look for patterns and recurring themes in the way God has shown up in your life. What do these patterns and themes suggest?
- Where might God be speaking to you through these themes and patterns? How might they reflect his grace, mercy, and compassion?