It is good to praise our God.

“Hallelujah! It is good to praise our God; singing praises to Him is beautiful and right” (Psalm 147:1).

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, I led the memorial service. About a year and a half ago, at the same location and in front of the same pulpit, I had led the memorial service for my beloved third uncle, the pastor. After the service, I watched as the mourners greeted the family, and I became lost in thought. As I saw the mourners and the family hugging each other while crying, I meditated on Ecclesiastes 7:2: “… this is the fate of all men; the living should take it to heart.” Someday, all of us will face death, so I took some time to reflect deeply as a living person. After the mourners had greeted the family, we prayed one last time in front of the deceased’s casket. The children’s cries could still be heard. My heart ached deeply. It was a moment of reaffirming that on this earth, our only hope is in Jesus Christ.

After the memorial service, there was a Wednesday evening prayer meeting, so I could not have dinner with the family and returned to the church. As I praised God, I sang “I Love You, My Jesus.” The reason I sang this was that I wanted to confess my love to Jesus. I wanted to confess my love for the One who is my true hope, my joy, and my life through praise. In that moment, as I began to proclaim the word of God, the words from Psalm 147 struck me deeply. I stopped at the first verse, “Hallelujah! It is good to praise our God; singing praises to Him is beautiful and right.” I had prepared a sermon on the entire chapter, meditating through all 20 verses, but I found myself stopping at just the first verse. It was so full of grace. Even with just this one verse, my soul was filled. So, I meditated on the first verse in three ways.

First, it is good to praise our God.

Our God is good. The believer who has tasted and known God's goodness (Psalm 34:8) cannot help but praise Him. Especially those who have experienced God's good work, as described in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose,” cannot help but praise God’s goodness. This is why we sing "God is so good." Even if we are grieving the death of a loved one, we can still praise God for His goodness because we believe that, through His sovereign providence, He will reveal His goodness in all things. Surely, the good God will turn our sorrow into joy. Therefore, today, we praise God's goodness.

Second, it is beautiful to praise our God.

One day, my wife told me after attending a funeral, "I saw the glory of man." Last year, at the funeral of my third uncle, the late Pastor Kim Chang-hyuk, she said that she saw the glory of God, but in another funeral, she said she saw the glory of man. When I heard her words, I thought they were very insightful. When we live for God's glory and die in that faith, that death is truly beautiful in the Lord. When we witness God's glory through such a beautiful death in a funeral, we cannot help but praise the greatness and majesty of the Lord (Hymn 40). When we see God's beauty through a beautiful death, we cannot help but praise God. Our God is beautiful. The believer who sees God's beauty with the eyes of the spirit praises God. I remember the verse from Psalm 27:4: "One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." As we long for the beauty of God, we desire to praise Him eternally in His house.

Third, it is right to praise our God.

Our God is worthy of praise. The believer who experiences His goodness and beauty rightly praises God. No matter how painful or difficult our circumstances may be, the believer who believes in a good and beautiful God will praise Him. The reason is that, no matter what situation we are in, the believer knows that it is right to praise God. This is what happened with Paul and Silas in Acts 16. Even when they were imprisoned, they prayed and praised God (Acts 16:25). Praise is not influenced by circumstances. Praise transcends the situation and is offered to God. Therefore, it is only through faith that we can truly praise God. We praise Him in faith because we know it is right to do so.

I still remember the time I went to visit my grandfather, who was suffering from cancer. He was lying in bed but then sat up and asked me to sing Hymn 82. I remember singing it with him:
(Verse 1) "My joy, my hope, and my life is the Lord.
Though I sing day and night, my heart remains weary."
(Verse 4) "My true longing is for Jesus,
His voice is welcome to me, and my life and true hope is only in Him."

I praise Jesus, who is my joy, my life, and my true hope. I want to praise the Lord's greatness and majesty until my last breath. I want to praise His great love until the end. The reason is that praising Him is good, beautiful, and right.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul,"

James Kim, Pastor
(Reflecting on the moment after the funeral yesterday, when I realized that God was accomplishing the work of salvation among the grieving family, returning to the church with a heart full of joy.)