corporate praise BY SAM JAGT
T
he Psalms are wonderful for their diverse attributes. Some are imprecatory curses hurled at the foes of God. Others are sobbing confessions of sin. Still more are made up almost entirely of praise and thanksgiving. Each serves its own purpose, but for ours we will look into thankfulness in the Psalms. It is helpful to first establish who the psalmists are thanking. The Psalms offer rich descriptions of God: victorious, wise, long-suffering, creator of all things, and deliverer. These attributes help us to understand who we are thanking and why so that in every circumstance we can praise the Lord sincerely with thankfulness in our hearts to God. Next, we need to ask how we thank God. The Book of Colossians has a good deal to say about thankfulness. In a similar fashion to the Psalms, 8 THE LU THERAN AMBASSADOR
the Apostle Paul urges the church in Colossae to “be thankful. Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (3:16-17). Colossians, just like the Psalms, tells us that we must thank the Lord together. It is not enough to thank Him individually. We are to thank the Lord for all that He does for us, and we are to do it together as the people of God. Let us now ask a different question: Why do we thank God? Thankfulness is not just something we are taught by our parents when we are 2 or 3 years old, it is something God prescribes to His Church. It is written throughout the Psalms. “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High” (Psalm
