As I considered how to end Advent, as I reflected on all the posts that have been written, the prophesies of the Messiah, it seemed clear that the only appropriate response is praise. Mary “magnified the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior”; John the Baptist leapt in the womb. The angels sang “Glory to God in the highest!” Can we do any less?
As the psalmist celebrates God’s salvation in Psalm 98, he calls people to worship and imagines that nature itself will enter into praise:
for He has done marvelous things!
His right hand and His holy arm
have worked salvation for Him.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
before the LORD, for He comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
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