Psalm 22:3 (ESV) “ yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel”
Sovereigns are enthroned. Sovereigns are not powerless over territory given to their charge. In fact, our Sovereign, the King of Glory has all power over heaven and earth — power to save, deliver, rescue, heal, change, remove, and put in place — and scripture says He is enthroned on the praises of His people! Our praise invites God to be where we are. God is everywhere. God’s omnipresence is one of His attributes that brings us such comfort; it’s true. When we praise God, however, we welcome God to be who God is where we are — to be Rescuer, to be Peace, to be Savior, Deliverer; to be Healer, to be Revealer, to be Restorer and Redeemer, to be King — to call the shots, to manifest His holiness and glory. I am not forgetting to acknowledge that the presence of God can be intimidating, overwhelming, even scary to experience, because God is holy and glorious. The weight of that isn’t bearable for mere mortals like us, and yet we were made for God, made for intimate relationship with God. Crazy tension for us to hold.
Sometimes the presence of God can also be intimidating because of what is exposed. Unholiness is obvious in the presence of the Holy. Isaiah experienced this. Did Isaiah run or try to escape God’s presence? Nope. His unholy condition could not eclipse God’s glory. In response to being aware of his own uncleanness and the uncleanness of his people, Isaiah confessed it out loud and was offered cleansing (Isaiah 6:1-7). I wonder how many of us (and how often) we tend to ignore the power we wield in praise because within ourselves we are afraid of what may be exposed in God’s presence? Or how many of us have forgotten how to praise because pain and hardship have stolen our focus and energy?
I pray that the Lord continues to reveal Himself to us, that our concept of Him expands to reflect the truth: our God is greater than the pain that distracts us from Him and more gracious than the shame that keeps us from boldly going before Him. We cannot afford long and frequent periods of life devoid of our actively engaging in praise to God. We forgo His presence. We cannot thrive this way. I think this is why Psalms 22, and so many others like it, bless my soul. David is not happy, yet he remembers and places God in the proper place, on the Throne, even as he endured hardship. Praise is beneficial at all times and prepares us for our ultimate end as believers in and followers of Christ:
“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.”
Revelation 19:1, 4-6 ESV
—Anyah E. R. White
