Let Us Rejoice

When you need to remember — that You're still my Shepherd.

You can land in a stretch where joy feels almost embarrassing — like you would be silly to actually rejoice, given the news, given the stretch, given the weight of what is unresolved. So your praise has gone polite. Quiet at home. Unsaid out loud. Not absent — just downgraded into something nobody could accuse of being too much. You do not need to manufacture cheer. The saints are told to be joyful in glory and to sing aloud upon their beds; the rejoicing of the people of God is weaponry, and the high praises of God are paired with a two-edged sword in the hand.

The opening is a fresh-start invitation: "Praise the Lord! Sing unto the Lord a new song... Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King." The reason is not the news; the reason is "Him that made him." Joy starts where you remember Whose you are. Then the body language: "Let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp." Bodies move. Hands play. The praise is physical. Then the line that gives the joy weight: "For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation." Pleasure. He is delighted in them. And the meek — the bowed-low ones — are the ones He beautifies. Then the picture that should change how you go to bed: "Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds." The joy is for tonight — on the bed, in the place where the day is supposed to be over, before anything gets fixed. Then the close: "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand... this honour have all His saints. Praise the Lord!" High praises and a sword — together. The Christian read is the spiritual battle: the praise of God in the mouth and the word of God in the hand are how the people of God stand against the powers that rebel against Him. Joy is a frontline posture.

• Right now, sing or speak praise out loud — one line, even short — wherever you are, even if you would feel silly: "Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him." • Write this down: "Where have I been downgrading my joy in Him so I would not seem like 'too much' in front of people who do not know Him?" • Repeat this line when joy feels embarrassing: "The Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation."

Stop. Breathe. Let saints being joyful in glory, singing aloud on the bed at the end of a long day, settle into the part of you that has been keeping joy quiet, then tell Him exactly which downgraded praise you want to bring back to full volume — out loud if you can.

God, sing You a new song through me — and let it be aloud, not quiet, not embarrassed, not downgraded. Let me rejoice in You that made me — let me be one of the children of Zion who is joyful in their King. Take pleasure in Your people, including the small, ordinary, meek part of me — and beautify it with salvation, because that is what You said You do. Tonight, when I lie down — let me sing aloud upon my bed, even if it is whispered; let the praise be there before sleep is. Put high praises in my mouth and the word of God in my hand, and let me stand up against the powers that have been pushing back on the people You love. You're still my Shepherd.

Praise is the frontline — and the joy on the bed is saints doing saints' work.