Congregation at Prayer

Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 148: The Creation Praises the Lord—How does the creation praise the Lord? What is praise? Praise gives all honor and glory to God. Psalm 148 extols “the Lord”—the great “I AM” and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the only true God who is both the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the eternal Savior. The whole of God’s creation praises the Lord when the creation does the very things that God has given it to do and performs its work according to the Lord’s will. Psalm 148 teaches us to understand that the whole of God’s creation is in service to the Lord for His good and gracious purposes. Because of the song of praise throughout God’s creation, young men and maidens, old men and children, and every believer and faithful saint of Christ’s Church praises the name of the Lord and extols His salvation in all the earth.

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Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 147: The Beauty of Singing Praise to the Lord—Praise of the Lord is beautiful because true praise confesses the goodness of the Lord in all His acts under the three articles of the Creed which are understood to be performed for the benefit of His Church. Under the Third Article work of the Holy Spirit, the Lord builds up Jerusalem (the Church) and gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds with forgiveness and mercy. He calls to faith by His Word and blesses the children of the Church with peace and the finest wheat in the Sacrament of the Altar. Under the First Article work of the Father, the Lord covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass to grow, gives food to all His creatures, and gives snow, hail, and cold to replenish the earth. All of the Lord’s blessing are made possible by the redeeming work of Christ under the Second Article of the Creed. Our praise flows forth in a confession of faith in God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord “does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.”

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 Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 146: A Confession of Faith in the Lord—To confess the truth of who the Lord is and what He has done and continues to do for us is the source true happiness, well-being, and contentment. It is also the foundation for proper praise of the Lord which gives all glory to Him because He has done all things for us. The God who made us is also the God who saves us. Our redemption in Christ restores us to what God called us to be. The forgiveness of sins in Christ makes all things new. So the psalmist confesses this faith in a song of praise: “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live, I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Politicians and princes cannot save. “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever.” The Lord executes justice for the oppressed in the cross of Calvary. Christ’s redeeming work then becomes the fountain and source of all blessings. “The Lord gives freedom…opens the eyes of the blind…raises those who are bowed down…loves the righteous…watches over the strangers…relieves the fatherless and widow.” For all this we “Praise the Lord!”

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Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 145: A Psalm of Praise for the Lord’s Sustaining Love—There is mental health and spiritual wellbeing that is the product of praise for the Lord. Proclaiming, confessing, extolling, and praising the Lord for His sustaining love in providing for every need of body and soul gives the heart of a Christian peace and contentment in the midst of the troubles of life. To say it another way, the antidote for worry, distress, and sadness over the problems of this world is the heart of faith that focuses upon everything that the Lord does for our life and salvation. Praise of the Lord gives peace and stability to our lives. “I will extol You, my God…every day I will bless You…I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty…The Lord is gracious and full of compassion…The Lord upholds all who fall…The Lord is near to all who call upon Him…The Lord preserves all who love Him…My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord.”

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