June 27, Psalms and Revelation

Today’s reading: Psalms 131-135

“All you Israelites, praise the Lord; house of Aaron, praise the Lord; house of Levi, praise the Lord; you who fear him, praise the Lord. Praise be to the Lord from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem” - Psalms 135:19-21.

The psalms are a mixture of individual and corporate expressions of and exhortations to praise. In today’s passage, we see a corporate exhortation that covers the nation, families, tribes, and all who feared the Lord. The end goal of everything in Psalms is praise, which is a focus on God that transcends circumstances to His majesty and goodness. When you look at psalms from that perspective, you see that it mirrors the message of Revelation, which is also a picture of praise and worship as the ultimate human expression:

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God (Revelation 7:9-11).

Is praise and worship the end of your spiritual devotion and seeking? Are you focused on God or on yourself and your world of family and work/ministry? Do you have both corporate and individual expressions of praise in your spiritual repertoire?