Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Psalm 150
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  April 24, 2022

As I read the book, I could see that my daughter was getting more and more uncomfortable. “Daddy, will the witch eat Hansel and Gretel!?” She asked. I said, “I don’t know, we will have to wait and find out.” But then her face scrunched up in worry and I was afraid she might cry so I decided to let a spoiler slip out, “It’s ok, in the end, they are safe and happy.” “Ok!” she said, immediately relieved. And then she added, “This book is a little scary!”  …That’s a lot like real life isn’t it? Even though we know that our salvation is secure in Christ, the road of living in a sinful world is still a little scary, to say the least. We are constantly beset by doubts, worries, trauma, and terror. But what puts us at ease—what allows us to avoid despair and keep listening to the story, so to speak—is that our heavenly Father reassures us of the same good news I shared with my daughter. At the end of the story, we are safe and happy with him forever. In the light of Jesus’ resurrection, we always have a reason to praise God! Regardless of how hard or scary life may be, at the end, we sing Hallelujah!

This precious comfort is clear from Psalm 150. Psalm 150 is the very last Psalm in the book of Psalms. It begins and ends with the words “Praise the Lord,” and the word “praise” occurs thirteen times in just six verses, a resounding doxology to end the book of psalms. This word for “Praise the Lord” is the special word we often hear around Easter: “Hallelujah!” I’m going to substitute this word for Praise the Lord as we read the psalm together today.

In Psalm 150, we have all questions answered about where, why, and how to sing Hallelujah to our Risen Lord. Verse 1 tells us where to sing these Hallelujahs: Say it with me! [Congregation joins together in reading from the screen.] “Hallelujah! (Praise the Lord.) Hallelujah! (Praise God) in his sanctuary. Hallelujah! (Praise him) in the expanse that shows his might. We are to praise God here in church, but also in the expanse, language that reminds us of the creation of the universe from Genesis 1—in short, everywhere! There is no place where God is not praised! Psalm 19 says that all of the universe sings a silent Hallelujah as they reflect his mighty power. If these things declare his praise, so should we! Every part of a life lived for Christ is a Hallelujah, not just our hymns in church! Think about some of the silent sermons you’ve heard throughout your life from a father or mother, a teacher or friend, who shouted Hallelujah to the Lord without using their voice.

Verse 2 tells us why we should praise God! (Praise him) Hallelujah for his acts of power. (Praise him) Hallelujah according to his abundant greatness. Our God has performed acts of power and greatness throughout human history, even in our own lives. And yet, just one week removed from Easter, it is hard not to think about the great act of power that Christ completed for us in his perfect life, death, and resurrection in our place and on our behalf! This is the heart of God’s abundant greatness and the ever-present reason for our Hallelujahs.

Next, Verse 3 tells us how we can praise the Lord: (Praise him) Hallelujah with a blast of the ram’s horn. (Praise him) Hallelujah with the harp and the lyre. (Praise him) Hallelujah with hand drums and dancing. (Praise him) Hallelujah with the strings and the flute. (Praise him) Hallelujah with the sounding cymbals. (Praise him) Hallelujah with loud cymbals. The psalm seems to list all the instruments known at that time. The ancient Israelites used a full range of instruments, and on festive occasions, dance was a part of the religious celebration of the community. Nothing in Scripture suggests that religious music and worship should be limited to the somber or that certain instruments are inherently inappropriate for worship. Many Wisconsin Synod Lutherans, including myself, squirm at the thought of dancing in church. Yet even though something isn’t our practice here at Eastside, this does not dictate what is “right” or “wrong” in worship. Our brothers and sisters in other churches and other countries have praise that sounds and looks quite different from ours and that is more than ok. We should celebrate the diversity of praise that God’s people render to him, just as we read here in Psalm 150.

That brings us to the final verse, verse 6, which tells us who can say Hallelujah, Let everything that has breath Hallelujah (praise the LORD). Hallelujah! (Praise the Lord.) Do you have breath in your lungs? Yes? Well, then there should be a Hallelujah on your lips! Notice how we are repeatedly commanded, in light of God’s great love and power, to praise him in this Psalm. It is to be joyful and willing and yet it isn’t optional either. Everyone should be praising God, even as we trust that one day every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

That’s the hard part, isn’t it? There are so many times when I don’t feel like saying “Hallelujah”. Do you know what I mean? There are times when Hallelujah is the last thing you’re about to say, right? Psalm 150 sounds reasonable on Easter morning, but sometimes it doesn’t feel natural or even right. In the face of disaster, next to the bedside of a cancer patient, by a grieving parent, or with a despondent child—the imperative to praise can ring hollow, no matter how excited the call to sing Hallelujah may be. Sometimes I grow so frustrated by the spiritual immaturity I see in others, by the selfishness of their sin, and by the lack of progress in Christian living or responding to God’s grace. But you know what stifles my Hallelujahs the most? I see the same tracks of sin in myself. There are times when I feel so discouraged by my sin, I wonder if God would even want to hear a Hallelujah from these unclean lips. 

But my friends, Psalm 150’s call for Hallelujah is neither tone-deaf nor naive. Do you remember how I said that it was the final Psalm of the entire book of Psalms? Consider that for a moment. 144 Psalms come before this psalm, and if you’ve even read a few of them you realize that they are some of the most achingly difficult and intimate prayers recorded in Scripture. Perhaps more than any other book of the Bible, the book of Psalms expresses the multitudes of human emotions reflected in the ebb and flow of life. We move often, in our daily lives, our daily walks, from feelings of hope to ones of despair, from questioning to assurance, from awe to doubt. The book of Psalms echoes that ebb and flow. We do not find in the book a tidy grouping of psalms of despair followed by psalms of hope followed by psalms of awe and wonder. Rather it is a seemingly messy mix of psalm types, reflecting the life of faith—a psalm of hope gives way to one of despair, one of awe to one of doubt. And only after the whole range of expressions of life have been articulated, heard, and offered to God, may the psalmist offer the final Hallelujah to God, culminating in Psalm 150’s cry to “let all that has breath praise the LORD.” 

In the gospel reading today, Jesus suddenly appeared and stood among the disciples. Imagine their rejoicing when they realized who he was. And also imagine the feelings of hope and despair, joy and sorrow, questioning and assurance, wonder and doubt they experienced along their journeys as Jesus’ disciples. Their joy and wonder at the sight of the risen Jesus came at the culmination of the time they shared with him, with all of its ebbs and flows. If you asked them to sing Hallelujah on Friday night, I doubt they would have. But after seeing him alive, they sang Hallelujah with their lives until they joined him in heaven. That’s the promise of Psalm 150, without ignoring or minimizing the problems of life, it reminds us that at the end, we sing Hallelujah. And that allows us to say Hallelujah at any time, no matter how dark. 

Think about it, the Hallelujah of Easter is sung more earnestly—more certainly and honestly—by those who understand Good Friday, right? The same is true at all times, our forgiveness and eternal life in Christ are appreciated most when we understand the reality of our sin and the price that was paid to redeem us. The Hallelujahs of Psalm 150 are the response of people who know full well that sin brings death, but who know even more the power of the LORD who brings life out of death! Because Christ is alive, at the end, we sing Hallelujah!

Perhaps you feel a bit less like a saint on fire for Christ and more like a smoldering wick these days. Perhaps you feel dishonest singing Hallelujah right now. What a comfort Christ’s victory is for you. In our conflicts with our unruly hearts, what a comfort it is to know that it will not always be this way. When you are troubled by your own lack of Hallelujahs, remember that Jesus does not quench the smoldering wick nor does he does not break the bruised reed. The devil whispers, you hardly have any faith and love, it will soon burn out. But you can respond, “Yes, it is only a spark but Christ will cherish it until he brings me home. Like one of those trick candles that keep coming back even after you blow them out, so too the devil will be so confused that he blows and blows, and yet he cannot blow out your faith because, even in the darkest of time, your soul sings Hallelujah. Christ’s power and promise sustains you. 

Let’s be thankful for the least degree of Hallelujah we can utter now, even if outwardly we are anything but joyful. For that whisper of praise will echo longer than the world and all that is in it, including our pain and sin. Let us see a roaring fire in a spark, an oak tree in an acorn. Let us hear the walls of heaven resound with Hallelujah in even a whisper of praise from our lips now. Because at the end, we sing Halellujah! Amen.