The opening line of Napoleon Dynamite sets the tone for the movie. Napoleon laconically climbs aboard the school bus and, when seated, the young boy beside him asks ‘what are you going to do today, Napoleon?’. In a ‘more than disinterested’ reply, Napoleon says:‘whatever I feel like, gosh!’
Psalm 135 has a Napoleon moment. We’ll get to it. But where it begins is with a wholehearted encouragement to praise God. All of us. Often.
Why? Because God is good. Remind yourself again: ’He’s good’.
If you haven’t reminded yourself of God’s goodness, do it before you reach verse 6. For it declares that anywhere and everywhere, God does as He pleases. Wind, rain, lightning, signs and wonders…as He pleases.
Unless you have a strong and certain understanding of ‘whatever the Lord pleases’, verse 6 is going to seem glib, callous and potentially reckless and dangerous.
The good news is that ‘whatever God pleases’ is good. It is enduring love. Most powerfully demonstrated in Jesus and echoing in all creation, God’s work and the desire of all His work, is good.
Even what the enemy means for evil, he works it for our good and for His glory.
The worship leader in Psalm 135 contrasts God’s goodness with the idolatry of sinful man. Those that fashion objects of worship from our their toil or the toil of other men, and then bow down to them. Idols with mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.
There is nothing of enduring life in that which man creates for His own glory. For all the abundant life for which we were created, we become as lifeless as the gods of our creation if we bow down to them and make them the object of our worship.
As Dr Seuss said: ‘No, that’s not for you!‘. You’re sons and daughters of the most high God and you were made for so much more than this. You were made to praise a living God who is enduringly good.
135 is a call to burn your idols and declare that God is Lord over all. And to recognise that in His sovereignty and power, He works for our good.
Worthy of all our praise.