Name That Tune

Saturday Psalm: 4.26.25

Photo by Nothing Ahead via Pexels

The Saturday devotion focuses on a part of a psalm – a verse, a phrase, even a single word. We pray that it is a blessing to you.

Psalm 148
v7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps.

We probably shouldn’t be reading Psalm 148.

Not that it’s inappropriate or anything. What I mean is that we should be singing or chanting it, or listening to it sung or chanted, as it would have been used originally. Because, frankly, it doesn’t flow all that well when read.

I made this identical point about Psalm 147 in a devotional last year, that good prose makes bad lyrics and vice versa. Today, though, I want to stress that that doesn’t just sort of happen, it has to be that way. The medium is the message. Know your audience, and know your arena.

It’s a lesson the best hymn writers take to heart. I can see this, because segments of Psalm 148 sound very familiar to me. Perhaps they will to you as well.

The first four verses include eight commands to “praise the Lord/him.” Those verses remind me of “To God Be the Glory.” Repetition becomes refrain. Praise the Lord!

Then verses 7 through 10 read like an episode description of a nature documentary. Those verses remind me of “Earth and All Stars,” which is part “Wild Kingdom,” part “How It’s Made.” Sing to the Lord a new song … that’s a lot like an old song.

In a few weeks, we’ll be celebrating Pentecost. That festival of the Holy Spirit carries a message that bears repeating: To reach people with the Gospel, you have to speak their language.

Sometimes, that’s another actual language. Sometimes, that’s speaking in parables, or in another vernacular, or dropping the “thees” and “thous.” Sometimes, that means not speaking at all, but singing. I thank the Lord that he has reached me in all of those ways.

I’ll wrap this up now. Gotta keep it tight, since most of you are probably reading on a phone! But I expect that many of you will remember this one, because you’ll have a tune stuck in your head.

“Hmmm hm HMMMMM, hmmm hm HMMMMM …”

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.