On Psalm XCIX

Extract

The psalm just sung, dear brethren, is a short one, and its meaning is quite plain. I say this to put you at ease; there is nothing heavy here. However, just because the matter is so straightforward we must be as attentive and alert as we can. The spiritual meaning underlying the open sense, that is what we want to get at, as far as God gives us grace to do so. God's voice—use whatever medium he will— is always God's voice, and none other can please him. Thus, would we please him, when we speak it must be he speaking through us.

A psalm of praise—such is the inscription: few words, but big with meaning: may they lay such seeds within your hearts as to yield a big harvest and fill a storehouse of good grain for the Lord. The psalm urges us to rejoice in the Lord—that is its bidding: and, because the seeds of blessing have been scattered everywhere, the psalm demands world-wide jubilation, not simply from one isolated corner of the world, or one household or one community.