Unless otherwise noted, quotes are from Interpreting the Psalms by Patrick D. Miller, Chapter 5: “Enthroned on the Praises of Israel: Interpreting the Biblical Hymns”
“The most exuberant, extensive, and expansive indicators of who and what God is, and what God is about, are found and elaborated in the hymns and songs of thanksgiving that the people of Israel and individuals in that community uttered again and again in the course of Israel’s history.” (p. 64)
“In what is said we learn of the one we call Lord. In the way it is said—both shape and tone—we are given a model for our own response to God.” (p. 64)
Miller notes that the faith of Israel is worked out on the continuum of petition and praise, always reflecting trust. The ultimate movement is always toward praise. “While Psalm 1 shows us what it means to walk in the way of God’s Word as a way of life, Psalm 150 shows the goal of walking in this way: unencumbered praise.” (Taylor, Open and Unafraid, p. 102)
“…praise more that any other act fully expresses utter devotion to God and the loss of self in extravagant exultation of the transcendent Lord who is the ground of all.” (p 67) “This is why human beings yield themselves fully to God in dance and song. Such is the nature of self-abandonment as the unqualified response of our lives to God.” (Taylor, Open and Unafraid, p. 96)
“That is the purpose of praise—to respond to the experience of God’s grace and power, to exalt the one who is seen and known to be that way, and to bear witness to all who hear that God is God.” (p. 68)
“The act of praise, which in a most basic way is the goal of existence, means to acknowledge and confess who God is and in so doing render honor and glory to the one who is the object of praise.” (p. 70)
“If one cannot understand the laments of the Old Testament without a sense of the real anguish and despair of heart they convey, it is also the case that one cannot fully comprehend what took place and takes place in praise without feeling the emotions of exultation and delight, shouting and dancing. Praise may even approach ecstasy at times It is never irrational, however. To the contrary, praise is a making glad that makes sense.” (p. 70)
Prepared for Sunday, 5/31/20