“Worthy, totally and unreservedly worthy”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Psalm 98 (Forward, p. 47) CEV p. 615

Only a few minutes ago I was watching some of the television coverage of the sober procession of our late Queen’s body from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. For many days now, we have been hearing the pretty well unsullied tributes to her life, character and reign. (Yes, there have been a few ‘contrary’ comments, but only a few, and the majority of these had more to do with the Royal Family as an institution, or to the meaning of the Crown as a symbol of a past era, or of privilege and power, or of imperialism, colonialism and feudalism, or as a reminder of Britain’s role in slavery and colonialism, than to the Queen herself). By and large the comments about the Queen have been very positive. By any human standards, she is certainly worthy, worthy of our praise, adulation and imitation.

By those standards, then, God is even more worthy, and that is what today’s psalm sets out to explain. Our psalmist details several ways in which God is worthy, and worthy, no less, of our praise and adulation:

a) God works miracles;

b) God has the power to win victories, to save and to bring about justice on the earth in a way that is honest and fair;

c) And last but not least, God has proved Himself faithful in His love for Israel.

And furthermore, these achievements, these activities, are not done in secret, but are seen and known throughout the entire earth. And so, all of the earth, all of his people and even creation itself, should praise and celebrate His goodness and power. Interestingly, our psalmist commands this to take place, even to the point of ordering the ocean, the rivers and the hills to do so.

So, given this, we of His family the Church, we should especially praise Him and celebrate His goodness and love, for He indeed is worthy, worthy of our praise and exultation, far more than even the most exalted of His subjects, people like our late Queen Elizabeth II. Amen.

Forward notes: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things” (verse 1).

“One of the members of our Education for Ministry seminar a few years ago had an extensive knowledge of hymns. She opened my eyes in a new way to the power of these special forms of song.

“Recently I’ve been listening to a very simple recording of hymns by a gospel artist I discovered on Spotify. Chris Rice has one album called Peace Like a River: The Hymns Project and another called Untitled Hymn: A Collection of Hymns. The words are powerful reminders of God’s love and presence. I have been singing along with Chris to ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus,’ ‘Rock of Ages,’ ‘It is Well with My Soul,’ and more while cooking in the kitchen or eating dinner and even while getting ready for bed. I have been singing a new (and old) song to the Lord, and it has brought me joy.”

Moving Forward: “What’s one of your favourite hymns? Sing or listen to it today.”