Praise [Proper 27B]
The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Psalm 146 Praise A lot has changed over the course of a few psalms. Not long before this hymn of praise we recited today, a psalmist was leading the community of the faithful in a different song, a lament, a song of a heartbreak and sadness: “How can we sing the Lord's song in this strange land?” But today it is the voice of another singer, a voice that cuts through the pain of a people, of a people who know the hurt of slavery in Egypt, who know the pain of exile in Babylon, who lived under years of toil and oppression. It is a different song: Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live. It is that “non-stop, never-quit, no-doubt, every-moment-of-every-day, bone-deep” kind of praise. It's that “shout-it-from-the-mountaintop-I-don’t-care-who-hears-it” kind of praise. It is that kind of praise that moves your body to dance, moves your tongue to shout...