Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Hallelujah! – Psalm 150:6

These are the final words of the final psalm included in the Book of Psalms.  This final verse serves to charge us listeners by drawing us in to the response for all of creation.  For all that God has done and continues to do, we ought to sing our praise.

The authors of our primary liturgical guide and hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, chose to begin numbering the included music and hymns at #151.  This is because, just prior to the pages of music, the authors included the entire book of psalms.  The music that follows builds upon the stage that is set by the psalter and the congregation’s worship song flows in response.

Thumbing to the very end of our hymnal you’ll discover the last piece of music was chosen to be “Before You, Lord, We Bow.” Though it’s included amongst the “National Songs” section, it serves as a fitting conclusion to the music collected therein.  Here’s the final verse of this final hymn included in our hymnal:

Francis Scott Key by Joseph Wood

“And when in pow’r he comes, oh, may then every land

from all its rending tombs send forth glorious band,

a countless throng,

with joy to sing to heav’n’s high king salvation’s song!

”ELW 893 Before You, Lord, We Bow, verse 4

Once again, the listener is charged to respond by making a joyous sound and singing to God.  Reading closely to the notations in the hymnal you’ll discover the author of the text for this hymn is Francis Scott Key, who also wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the United States.  In addition to being a lawyer and district attorney, Key was an active member of his church and founder of an Episcopal seminary in Virginia.  It’s no surprise that his poetry is filled with singing praises to God.

Join me in giving thanks today for the variety of lyricists, musicians and poets that have given words to our songs of praise.

May God’s peace come to you this day. -Pastor Peter

Let us pray… With each and every breath we sing our praise to you God.  For all you have done and for all you continue to do we give you thanks.  Amen.