Alexis Kennedy
Psalm 98:4-9
When something brings excitement to children or overwhelms them with joy, what do they do? They shout, they scream, they squeal with delight! They express it by making a loud and joyful noise! They certainly don’t whisper or sit and reflect on it quietly. And hearing their unrestrained reaction brings others great delight to see and hear that they can’t contain their joy!
We are God’s children, and in Psalm 98: 4-9, He tells us, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!” … “with trumpets and the blast of a ram’s horn.” Even the earth joins in on the celebration — “let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy…” In Luke 19:40, when the crowd of disciples was loudly praising God as Jesus entered Jerusalem, Jesus told the complaining Pharisees, “…if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” God deserves all of our praise. As a child of God (John 4:12), why not praise Him as such? “Shout for joy before the Lord, the King.” (Psalm 98:6)
As the Christmas season is upon us, children will be shouting for joy on Christmas morning. We should be shouting for joy, about Christ! Just as when the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds and “a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God” (Luke 2:13-14) on the very first Christmas! It wasn’t a “silent night” but it was Holy.