He needed a man…
Who would take him seriously:
His words, his ways, his priority.

And Joe took him seriously
Rich enough in integrity,
To let his betrothed go
For her presumed adultery.
But quietly, kindly, and shunning a show.

He needed a man…
Who could hear his voice
Through that long dark night of pain,
And make his master’s choice,
And go against the populist grain.

He needed a man…
Who would move at the drop of a dream,
Trust nothing, no one, except the divine scheme,
Stick to his girl, stick to his son,
Stay where he was til he heard from the One.

He needed a man…
Who could make a way in a foreign land
With just the skills in his calloused hands,
Trade myrrh for tools, watch the river flow,
Keep her safe, keep their profile low.

For that job, he needed a man.
He usually needs someone – a woman, a girl, a boy.
Sometimes a donkey will do. An angel. A few.
He’s always got something on the go.
Which is why, today, tomorrow, he also needs you. (Mark Greene)

Throughout the book of Psalms, the summons or call to praise God is generally accompanied by reasons to praise Him. These reasons basically fit into one of two categories: we praise Him for who He is (‘for His surpassing greatness’, as Ps 150:2 indicates) or for what He does (‘for His acts of power’, Ps 150:2).

As we reach the end of our studies on the book of Psalms and the end of 2018, it is a good exercise to write our own psalm of praise based on these two categories.

God is great (Ps 104:1, Ps 95:3-4) and this greatness extends to His love (Ps 86:13a, Ps 117:2), His mercy (Ps 25:6) and His faithfulness (Lam 3:23). We can also meditate on His kindness (Is 63:7, Jer 31:3), His goodness (Ps 119:68, Ps 13:6) and His righteousness (Ps 35:28). We can praise Him that He is slow to anger (Ps 103:8) and does not treat us as our sins deserve, but offers us forgiveness and redemption (Ps 103:9-10, Eph 1:7-8).

God’s people throughout history have praised Him for His acts of deliverance (see Ps 145:4, Ps 107). God is interested in people and works on our behalf. This year, we have seen new doors opening as we have worked in partnership with others (local churches, the Dearne Area Team and other organisations on the Summer Fun Days, 4FrontTheatre with the Christmas production ‘Job & Jingle’ and so on). We have seen God move people in new directions and have seen many answers to prayer. We all have our own reasons to praise. Why not share them with us and with others? As the redeemed of the Lord tell their stories (Ps 107:2), people will hear and be blessed. (Ps 40:9-10) If you’ve tasted afresh that the Lord is good this year or have experienced His acts of power on your behalf, please feel free to comment and let us rejoice with you.

A whole variety of musical instruments are mentioned in Ps 150, highlighting again the importance of music in the collective worship of God.

The trumpet (or ram’s horn) was associated with the grandest and most solemn events in Israel’s history, such as the giving of the law (Ex 19:16), the proclamation of jubilee (Lev 25:8-9), the coronation of Jewish kings (2 Sam 15:10) and the raging of war (Joshua 6:20) It is also referred to in the New Testament regarding the 2^nd coming of our Lord and the raising of the dead (1 Thess 4:16, 1 Cor 15:51-52).

The harp and lyre were stringed instruments played by the Levites and used in worship (see 1 Chron 25:1).

The timbrel was a percussion instruments, often played by women and associated with victory celebrations (Ex 15:20, Judges 11:24, 1 Sam 18:6). Cymbals were also percussion instruments, associated with loud, triumphant celebration.

The flute was a wind instrument and stringed instruments (mentioned only here and in Ps 45:8) were not associated with priestly worship, indicating that worship is to be by any means possible. The broad list of musical instruments tells us that God wants every class and group of people to praise Him, because these instruments were normally played by different types of people. “The horn was the curved ‘Shophar,’ blown by the priests; harp and psaltery were played by the Levites, timbrels were struck by women; and dancing, playing on stringed instruments and pipes and cymbals, were not reserved for the Levites.” (Maclaren) Praise is to be vibrant and varied. As someone once remarked, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” Music is a gift from God and our praise should include instruments, songs, shouting and dancing, all for His glory.

Psalm 150, the last of the ‘Hallelujah’ psalms and the last psalm in the whole book, is a summons to praise. Psalm 1 talks of the blessed life and is a summons to obedience; here, at the end of the book of Psalms, we have an exuberant call to praise the Lord with an orchestra of instruments and a wildness of wonder. Kilnam Cha says that “praise is the goal toward which the Psalter moves” and Brueggemann comments that it is “the most extreme and unqualified statement of unfettered praise in the Old Testament.” Literally everything that has breath is commanded to praise the Lord; once again, this psalm tackles fundamental questions about praise:

1. Who is to be praised (God)
2. Where God is to be praised (in His sanctuary)
3. Why God is to be praised (for His acts of power and surpassing greatness – what He does/ who He is)
4. How God is to be praised (with an array of musical instruments and dancing)
5. By whom God is to be praised (by everything that has breath)

Praise, in the experience of this psalm, is multi-sensory. It is aural (we hear the instruments and the music and the singing), kinaesthetic (for there is movement in dance and in lifting hands) and visual. It is something which engages the mind, soul and spirit; it is not something tepid and unexciting. Boice challenges us when he says, “Let’s be done with worship that is always weak and unexciting. If you cannot sing loudly and make loud music to praise the God who has redeemed you in Jesus Christ and is preparing you for heaven, perhaps it is because you do not really know God or the gospel at all. If you do know him, hallelujah.” We have so many reasons to praise God (in this psalm, we are urged to praise Him ‘for His acts of power’ and for His ‘surpassing greatness’) that it is really not hard to count our blessings! As 2018 draws to a close, look back and remember all the reasons to praise the God of the whole earth….and then get on and praise the Lord!

During the recent visit of 4FrontTheatre, the world of the theatre was opened up to me in new ways. As a travelling theatre company, this group has to take its own props with them, and essentially has to create its own stage from scratch, never being quite sure beforehand where they will be asked to perform. In the ‘Job and Jingle’ production, this was done through the creation of the castle, a work of art from lightweight materials painted grey which not only bolted onto poles to make a portable castle very reminiscent of mediaeval castles, but also opened up to create the backdrop of a royal court or a castle kitchen and then also closed to provide actors with a working space hidden from view. The castle actually became the ‘backstage’, even when the action in front of the castle was very much visible to the audience, which says a lot for the ingenuity and versatility of the team.

From within the castle, while actors carried on in front of the edifice, others climbed a stepladder to work puppet monks on sticks or to provide other visual aids to supplement the story. They were (mainly!) invisible to the audience, but worked hard out of sight to generate a believable and entertaining mediaeval world.

Revelation 12 is one of the chapters in the Bible where we are privileged to have the backstage, the behind-the-scenes actions of the Bible, unveiled to us. There, we see the Christmas story from a heavenly perspective: the cosmic struggle between good and evil, with the devil personified as a red dragon hurled down to earth from heaven, the birth of Christ and his persecution by the dragon, the ongoing persecution of God’s people, the ultimate triumph of God’s Messiah. (Rev 12:1-17) This is a far cry from our sanitised, cosy, safe understanding of Christmas, but is a reflection of the reality of spiritual warfare and of the truth that all of history really does hinge on a stable door. If the devil could have prevented the birth of the Messiah, if he could have deflected the Saviour from God’s mission (Matt 4:1-11), if he could have distracted Jesus from Calvary, then our salvation would have been scuppered. Praise God, he was defeated and his power overcome!

In a theatre, what goes on backstage may well look unglamorous and prosaic, but this is a necessary part of the wonder of the production. Theatre creates an illusory world, a fantasy world. Revelation 12 shows us, in symbolic imagery, not illusion or fantasy, but reality. The Christmas story is real. It is not just a nativity production made up of cardboard crowns and teatowels for shepherd headdresses. It is the story of God’s love made manifest in human form, and whatever poetic licence we may take with retelling this story, we do well to grasp its fundamental truth and reality. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to save us. Rejoice!

We had a birthday to celebrate tonight – I wish Alan had been at our sheep service yesterday!