08/28/2026
A message from Pastor Ahn...
Greetings,
Reading Psalm 150, we find several important things about praising God. First, praise happens in God’s world. We praise God in the sanctuary, in the heavens, and throughout all the earth. Praise is not limited to one place. Second, we praise God for who God is and for what God has done: God’s mighty deeds, sovereignty, creation, mercy, love, sacrifice, patience, and so much more. Third, we praise God with musical instruments—not just one, but every instrument. Psalm 150 gives us a beautiful picture of all creation joining together in praise.
This is especially meaningful as we celebrate Hymn Sing Sunday. Hymn Sing Sunday is not simply about singing our favorite hymns. It can also be an opportunity to praise God for the many and diverse ways in which God reveals God’s character to us. We naturally love our favorite hymns, and there is nothing wrong with singing them again and again. But if we always choose the same hymns, we may also find ourselves focusing on only one aspect of God. We need to remember that God cannot be reduced to a single characteristic. We know that God is love. But the Bible also tells us that God loves justice, judges, embraces, hates injustice, and yet does not delight in the death of the wicked. As God says through Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).
The Old Testament gives us many names for God, each revealing something about God’s character: Yahweh, the “I AM”; Elohim, the Creator; Adonai, the Lord; El Shaddai, God Almighty; El Elyon, God Most High; El Roi, the God who sees me; and El Olam, the Everlasting God. We also hear names such as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides; Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals; and Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace. Each name gives us a glimpse of who God is, but none of them tells us everything about God.
In the same way, every hymn we sing can highlight a different aspect of God. One hymn may celebrate God’s love; another may remind us of God’s holiness, faithfulness, mercy, justice, presence, or grace. That is why I invite us not only to sing our favorite hymn, but also to consider our second favorite hymn. Our second favorite hymn may not be the one we would choose first. Perhaps it expresses something about God that we do not think about as often. It helps us see an aspect of God that is less familiar to us. And that is precisely why it can be valuable for our faith.
Psalm 150 gives us the universal invitation: “Praise the Lord!” But it also leads us to ask, “Which God are we praising?” Not because there are many gods, but because the one God is greater and more mysterious than any single statement can describe. As we sing our second favorite hymns, I hope we open our eyes and hearts to the diverse ways God has revealed Godself to us. It becomes our faithful response to the universal invitation: “Praise the Lord!”
“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1).
Peace,
Byungil
