We Will Bless Forever (Psalm 115:18)

 


Wednesday, 20 August, 2025


Psalms 114; 115

2 Samuel 22:1-16

Acts 19:1-20


Observance: Bernard of Clairvaux abbot and teacher (d. 1153)


We Will Bless Forever (Psalm 115:18)


But we will bless the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!


There is a certain conceptualisation of heaven that I have heard from children of non-Christians wanting to learn about God. And if you’ve ever spent any amount of time in children’s ministry you’ll know that they have the best questions. This particular question concerned the afterlife. The child was worried that their only two options were either the flames of hell, or floating on a cloud singing hymns for eternity. To be fair, it did sound pretty bleak, even for me, and I love hymns.


So what does it mean that we will praise God for eternity? Today’s Psalmist seems to think it is not so bad, pointing out that, since the dead cannot praise, and he wants to praise, then God should grant him eternal life.


Maybe we should take our idea of the afterlife from the Bible instead of The Simpsons. Clouds are not necessarily something we ride on like a magic carpet, but a poetic device describing God’s glory. And while hymns are great, God also likes it when we “sing a new song”. But most convincingly is what Christ’s resurrection teaches us.


Just as one example, consider what Jesus did when he first rose from the dead. He had just suffered the punishment for the sins of his people, broken the bars of death, and declared victory over the grave. Mary Magdalene, first on the scene, confused him for the gardener – Jesus was doing yard work.


Praising God means more than singing on a Sunday morning; our whole lives, including working in the yard, can be a song of praise. What, then, do you think an eternal life of praise and blessing might involve?


God of the living, you desire that none should perish, and have given us victory over death through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ: give us a taste of the kingdom to come in our lives now, that we may enjoy our time here in praise and blessing.

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