Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
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Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations. -
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Our Guide (right) and His Friends | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 I was not a very good real estate broker. And that’s putting it mildly. I was not out and about connecting with people to get my name known. Nor was I confident enough to solicit listings successfully. I had gone to real estate school and done well. I understood the process. I had ads in the local newspaper. I had a real office and some part time help (paid for by my dad). But I was decidedly unsuccessful. The business closed after only a few months.
Those factors contributed to my failure. But the big kahuna behind it all was a lack of motivation. I just didn’t want to do the things necessary to get listings and sell properties. Behind that lack of motivation was the sense that I wasn’t really serving any truly necessary niche in the real estate broker landscape. I had thought of being a faithful and honorable broker. I truly wanted to be someone who was not just out for people’s money. I realized, however, that there were other honorable real estate brokers in my town and found little motivation to pursue that avenue.
There are different ways for people to have self-esteem. Some are decidedly unhealthy:
- Seeking Constant Approval from Others (e.g. relying on external validation instead of intrinsic worth.
- Comparing Oneself to Others (Measuring self-worth based on success, wealth, appearance, or achievements relative to others)
- Arrogance and Superiority (Building self-esteem by looking down on others or feeling superior)
- Materialism and Status Symbols (Believing self-worth comes from possessions, career success, or financial status)
But a healthy self esteem is founded on more solid ground. Christians are called to find identity in God’s grace and love. Psalm 139:14 – “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Romans 8:16-17 – “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” A healthy self-esteem is rooted in knowing we are loved, redeemed, and valued by God, rather than trying to prove our worth through worldly means.
Out of that identity we are moved to praise God, and to serve him. Martin Luther connected that when he offered this explanation to the second article of the Apostle’s Creed:
“I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him [emphasis added] in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.”
We are loved by God. We are children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We praise God also by serving him through serving our neighbor – with gladness!
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Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
“I’ve Been Here” Famous and not so famous people have signed the wall outside a Havana bar. | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 At the St. John Men’s retreat last weekend, we ate lots of bacon and other excellent food. We also visited, enjoyed time around the campfire, experienced great fellowship, and participated in the Hillbilly Olympics. Thankfully my teammate and I didn’t get beyond the first round of the competition. We were able simply to sit and enjoy the competition and conversations.
We also heard some edifying presentations from our guest speaker, Pastor Bob Gehrke (father of Seth, our Lead Minister). Pastor Bob as he is known, led us in singing This is the Day in a round. There were many good singers in our group. But there may also have been some joyful noise-makers as well.
I thought of that when I read the opening verse of this psalm of praise. Praising God involves vocal expressions of blessing to God. When we’re at the airport, we see signs that say, “If you see something say something.” It’s a plea to have people speak up to warn of potential threats to airport safety. Expressing our praise to God isn’t about warning people of imminent danger. It is about pointing people to the source of extraordinarily great blessing, goodness, love, and faithfulness.
I suppose it is possible to praise God silently. But that’s not the spirit of this psalm. We are called to sing, give thanks and express our praise to God – out loud.
The purpose of praise is two-fold. First it’s a proper thing to do. God is worthy of our praise. When we praise God we’re not gilding the lily. We’re not engaging in flattery. God doesn’t need our praise. He is not insecure or needy. He is worthy of all our praise. It is good, right and salutary that we should praise God.
We also praise God as a witness to the nations. We’re calling attention to God, that he is above all powers, all other gods, and beyond any other source of good and blessing. It may be that people will dismiss our praise as emotional froth. But it is not. And honorable women and men will recognize the truth of what we proclaim. God is good. His steadfast love endures forever. His faithfulness spans generation after generation.
Praise the Lord! Make a joyful noise to him!
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Please pray these Psalms with me today, on this Lord’s Day
Psalm 23
23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.Psalm 53
53 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.2 God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.3 They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.4 Have those who work evil no knowledge,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?5 There they are, in great terror,
where there is no terror!
For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.Psalm 83:1-4
83 O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”Psalm 113
113 Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised!4 The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!Psalm 143
143 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah7 Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. -
O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Old Ford Truck | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 Yay God! I suppose that might be considered by some to be irreverent. I certainly don’t intend to be disrespectful when I use that phrase. My intent is to be genuine and make the idea accessible outside of the confines of formal worship. I use it when the choir has sung an excellent anthem, or when we’re recognizing a new group of members, or confirmands: “Let’s give a big ‘Yay God’ for these people.” The intent is to give honor where honor is due. Thanks be to God. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! These all express that idea more formally.
Beyond formality, however, is the significance of offering praise to God. That is the supernatural response by God’s people when we see that he has done wonderful things. We can say our thank yous to those who deliver blessings to us: An act of kindness. A generous gift. A welcome embrace. A complement. It is good and right to thank people who have blessed us. Behind all those acts of kindness, grace, and love stands the God who inspires them.
“It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God…” we say in the communion liturgy at the Proper Preface, before Holy Communion. At all times and in all places it is right to praise God. Yay God is appropriate at any time.
Why all times and all places? Because God is always good. His steadfast love endures forever. This is the refrain of many psalms: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 136:1).
This is a fitting conclusion to our psalm of lament. It’s the metamessage of verse 9: “The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.” Or as Psalm 50:15 says, “Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will glorify me.
Praise honors God – always appropriate. Praise puts our problems in perspective; they cannot separate us from God. Praise puts us in our proper place; we are not in charge. Praise sends the devil fleeing. Praise is always proper – especially at the end of our lamentations.
Yay God!
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O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Early Morning Havana Street Scene | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 Pastor Wayne Grauman delivered a keynote speech at the Best Practices for Ministry Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Diane and I had to leave early so we didn’t get to hear it. But he did give me an overview of what he was going to say. Wayne is a beloved veteran pastor, having served for decades at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas. After retiring he and his wife Kathy traveled extensively in Europe, served at least two vacancies of which I am aware, and has had to battle against Multiple Myeloma. He seemed initially to have conquered the disease. But he has recently had to reengage in the battle.
All this has led him more fully to understand what it means to have hope. “Hope,” he says, “is related to trust.” He explained to me how he had always trusted God for his salvation. This is the justification part of trust. Trust is the sister of faith. There is, however, the sanctification side of trust. It’s when we put ourselves consciously into God’s hands and say, “Whatever comes my way, I will trust in you, O God.” It’s a matter of letting go and letting God take care of us here and now. Such trust, he says, is the foundation of hope.
All this comes to us by God’s grace as we hear of God’s great love. David, here, speaks of God’s steadfast love. It’s not just love. It’s not fleeting. It does not depend on us. The Hebrew word here is חֶסֶד (ḥesed). You have to say it with a guttural hch sound, like “Bach.” It is a rich concept relating to God’s covenantal faithfulness, unbreakable mercy, active, saving and enduring love.
We see this so clearly in Jesus’ life and ministry, his sacrificial death and resurrection. Jesus didn’t just love us for a moment. God loves us with an everlasting love. He is absolutely reliable.
“Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love,” David prays. He trusts in God and therefore he has hope. There’s also a reasoning: “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?” (v. 5) – a plea based on the idea that David desires to praise God in the land of the living.
I like to think of hope as a three-way dance with trusting and waiting. Paul says, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). We do have hope in this life, but not only in this life. We have an eternal hope secured and founded upon the steadfast love of God in Jesus. We do not live without hope. It grows out of trust. It will never disappoint. In this psalm of lament we turn to God in trust, hope, and love.
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O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
View from our Breakfast Balcony | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 I had visited a woman in a nursing home many years ago. She was near death. Her son was in the room, and while I was there, he provoked me to the point that I lost my temper and turned and walked out of the room. I was going down the very long hall, made a turn to the left to walk down another very long hallway, and realized that I needed to go back and apologize to him. In fact he had provoked me. His insinuations and cryptic criticisms and accusations were just enough below the surface of his comments that he could have claimed that he had not been unfair or unkind. But he had been both. His sting had hurt. And I had chosen to leave.
But I felt that I should be the more honorable person in that situation and decided to return and offer a palm branch. “John,” I said, “I’m sorry. I should not have left as I did just now. Please forgive me.”
I had anticipated that he might forgive me and offer me an apology as well. But he did not. He got up out of his chair, came around his mother’s bed, took my hand and led me out into the hall. Thinking this was a gesture of reconciliation, I went with him.
“Well,” he said, “some people are just not cut out to be pastors.” No I forgive you. No I’m sorry too. Just further accusation and insult. Criticism and disparagement. It really hurt.
That’s one of the reasons I so love James 1:5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. I love the verse not only because it promises that God will give us wisdom when we ask of him, he also will not criticize us when we ask him for it.
A psalm of lament includes a call for help. Thankfully when we call on God for help, he will not denigrate us for needing his help. There are times when we really do need a rock higher than I (Psalm 61:2). We don’t have enough strength to sustain ourselves. When we call out to God he hears and answers.
The answer to our prayer for help may come by way of divine intervention. When it does, we rightly praise God. Sometimes it arrives as a helper, a fellow traveler along the pathway of life. And sometimes it takes the shape of strength of the Holy Spirit who helps us grow in our faith through the struggles we face. As James also says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
God hears us when we call. He will help us. We can pray confidently, “Help, O Lord! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
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O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Havana Early Morning Street Scene | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 The second part of a psalm of lament is the complaint, or lament. It’s an expression of sorrow, frustration, distress, or pain. And while it is true, “Complaining is not a strategy,” God is willing to hear our complaints. But let’s be clear about two things.
- Complaining is not a strategy. And,
- Complaining alone is not a lament in the biblical sense of the word.
A lament in the biblical sense includes not only the complaints, but the address to God, the request for help, an expression of trust, and a vow or anticipation of praise. It’s the full story of a life of faith in a fallen world.
I love teaching the Stockdale Paradox, a concept from Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, based on the experiences of Admiral James Stockdale, a U.S. Navy officer and former prisoner of war in Vietnam. Stockdale observed that prisoners who were overly optimistic—expecting to be freed by a certain date—often lost hope when those expectations weren’t met. The paradox is summarized this way, “Face the brutal facts while holding on to hope.”
Some people falsely believe that if you’re a true Christian you’ll never have any troubles. Jesus said the exact opposite: “In the world you will have troubles” (John 16:33). But we don’t have to stop there for God invites us to express our deepest needs to him. We don’t have to pretend all is well and that we’re shiny happy people holding hands.
There is, however, a danger to avoid as we share our complaints before God. Lament isn’t just complaint. It’s far different from grumbling. Lament is a faithful cry to God. But grumbling is a faithless complaint against God. Or put it this way:
- Lament says, “Lord, I don’t understand, but I turn to You.”
- Grumbling says, “God, You’re not doing enough. I deserve better.”
You may be struggling desperately with troubles, distress, fear, and pain. Bring those to God. He will hear you. God says, “Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).
From the St. John Psalm Conversation Starters with God
We can pray… Oh my Savior and Lord, how long? These troubles ________________ have been going on and on and we need You to act. We call on the name of our God – the Lord of Heaven and Earth – to ease our pain. Ease this pain we feel in our hearts for the world. Our bodies ache and we literally feel the effect of sin upon the world. May we wait on You with hope. May our hope grow our character and trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Cuba Former Capital Building (It now houses government offices.) | Havana, Cuba | January 2025 Seth, Lead Minister at St. John preached on Psalm 6 this morning, explaining that it is a psalm of lament. He explained that such psalms typically follow a recognizable structure. The key parts are:
- Address to GoD
- Complaint
- Petition (Request for Help)
- Expression of Trust
- Praise
Some laments also include imprecations (calls for God’s judgment on enemies) and confessions of sin if personal wrongdoing is involved in the suffering.
Seth urged us to use the psalm for our devotions, and provided a resource for us to use to that end. I thought I’d use this idea to shape my own reflections for this week and the weeks to come.
Let’s start with the address to God.
Have you ever gotten caught in phone tree purgatory? “We’re glad you called, and your call is important to us. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 for German, 4 for French, 5 for Italian, 6 for Portuguese, 7 for Swahili, 9 for Chinese…” Then comes, “If you are calling as a customer press 1. If you want to speak to a billing agent, press 2….” Then, “Please enter the last five digits of your customer number. If you don’t know your customer number, press star to go back to the main menu.” Arrrgh!!!
God offers us a much better calling option. More important, the True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the great Three-in-One, the Alpha and Omega. David starts this psalm speaking to the LORD, Yahweh.
This is an appeal to the personal identifiable God. He is known by his name. He is not merely a spiritual force. He is the God of the covenant with his people. When Moses was sent to Pharoah to release God’s people from slavery, he told Moses that his name was “I AM WHO I AM. Tell them I AM sent you to them.” The divine name YHWH (often pronounced as Yahweh) comes from the same Hebrew root H-Y-H (“to be”), reinforcing the idea that God is the ever-present, self-sufficient One.
We know, now, that God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, who commanded us to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We know God by name, not just as a spiritual force. When we appeal to God in Jesus’ name we’re not sent to a purgatory of phone trees. We have access to the throne of God’s grace. Jesus himself promised, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.” (John 16:23).
Pour out your heart to God. Don’t just shout to the heavens. Don’t merely complain. Call on the LORD in Jesus’ name. He has promised to hear you.
