the place of the godly

It's the last day of September. In a couple of hours, it's going to be three months to the end of this year. For some, it's a reason to panic and despair. For others, it's a breath of fresh air. Let this month go already. They can't wait for the year to end so they can start over.

When many began the year, they probably projected into their future and pictured a lot of sunshine, only for things to go south as the days ran by. As the year comes to a close, one thing is certain: we have so much to forget.

What did you set out to do at the beginning of this year?

How many of them have you achieved?

Not much? None? Don't beat yourself up. There's hope.

During my study this morning, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to something really peculiar in the book of Psalms 148:1-14.

One of the great things the psalmist does is provide delineations for God as the almighty, self-sufficient creator of the universe, and God who wants a personal relationship with us. A distinction like this is why we have people mistake the awareness of God's existence as having knowledge of Him or serving Him. It's a claim made in error; great intention, but utterly misplaced. But that's a talk for another day.

Psalms 148 is an exhortation on praise. All creation, from phenomena, objects to man and animal, has a mandate to praise God. Why? The answer lies in vs 5-6:

Let them praise the name of the LORD!
For He commanded and they were created.
And He established them for ever and ever;
He fixed their bounds which cannot be passed.

God brought everything forth and established them for continuity. Without Him, they'd simply not exist. Does this say anything to you? Does it tell you that if everything praises God because he commanded all into being, then there is nothing that isn't answerable to Him?

If this is true, then what Paul says in Romans 8:29 is key in believing that anything answerable to God is also answerable to you. However, there's a caveat, a revelation in vs 14 of Psalms 148 that is absolutely worthy of note. In fact, this revelation is the difference maker:

He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them strength, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence],
Praise for all His godly ones,
For the people of Israel, a people near to Him.

Do you notice the antithesis? Interestingly, while vs 1-13 talks about everything praising God as the creator, vs 14 talks up about God praising, not Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but people!

Yes, people like you and I.

But also people that can be unlike you and I.

Is it getting confusing? Don't worry. I'll break it down.

The first thing you should take note of is that the 'people' in vs 14 is absolutely different from the 'all peoples' in vs 11. 'All peoples' is a categorization strictly reserved for the created. You and I are part of 'all peoples' and are subject to the general laws and systems of the universe, also subject to whatever codes and incidents we create for ourselves.

The special thing about the 'people' in vs 14 is the possessive adjective 'his'. These people are God's people, His godly ones. Do you know why they are God's own? They are God's people because they drew near to Him; they pulled away from all others in their choice to praise God with their mouths, hearts, and lives. Of course, you should know now that it's not possible to draw near to God without making Him the numero uno. 

Please, stay with me.

Verse 14 of this Psalms lays out two beautiful things:

1. If you draw near to God, He instantly stamps you as His.

2. The creator of all things, owed praise from all things, gets to drum up praises for you.

Do you know what this means?

Praise is a portion for those who have chosen to draw near to God, who have decided to be recognized as God's chosen. They are co-partakers, co-partners in this praise thing.

The implication for you is straightforward.

If you choose to bear God's stamp of possession, He sings your praise, raises praise for you, announces, exalts, and glorifies you. All earth cannot help but notice and work for you at this point.

Praising God is the duty of all creation, but the believer has one benefit that all others don't. God gets to praise you too.

Though, this last part does imply faithfulness on your end.

As you prepare for the end of the year, ask yourself this: If God drums up praise for you, can any of the wrongs and uncertainties around touch you?

You know the answer to this. So, strive to be godly.