My friend said to me, “There is no glory in the grave.” I pondered those words. How precious life is and how final death can be. As long as we have breath, we are given the privilege of praising His name.
People have asked, “Why we should praise the Lord? The world is a mess. Does God even care? Why does He need our praise?”
Good questions. Because He answered our sin through the cross. God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him resurrected life. He has given to us who believe in Him that same resurrected life. We will not be left in the grave.
David wrote, “In the grave who will give you thanks?” (Psalm 6:5, NKJV).
David continues, “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence, but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore” (Psalm 115:17, NKJV).
God has given us life and another day to praise His name. This day breathes for us because of Jesus. He’s given us a way to live above the world’s ways. And because God is God, He operates in love. He is Wisdom. Knowledge. Mercy. How can we not trust Him?
Where do we go if we don’t go to the Lord?
I am not pretending all is happy and wonderful like an aging Pollyanna. I spent two hours on the phone with an insurance agent who has doubled the cost of our homeowner’s policy for the year. She didn’t blink an eye as she rattled off a price. Many insurance companies will not insure a log house. So, we’re begging to be insured and paying double. Doesn’t make sense.
I said to my Sweet Al, “I don’t know how people are making it today financially. I don’t think they are. This is where the rubber meets the road; we either trust God or not.”
I understand, in these last days, the elderly are tired, they hurt and they yearn to go to their heavenly home. Don’t give up. There is still another praise in you. Keep breathing.
For those unborn babies, give them a voice to praise the Lord. Their voices will be sweet in the Lord’s ears. Death is final. There is no glory in the grave. They will go down into silence.
For the young who face uncertainties of what life offers today, when nothing makes sense, turn to the Lord who has given you purpose for your life. He will answer you if you ask.
For those who are careless about their walk with Jesus, God allows us just so many days to praise His name. We will meet Him face-to-face one day.
Jesus is alive and He rose from the grave to give us life; that’s why we praise Him. We either accept his sacrifice or we turn away from God’s unconditional love on the cross. It is our choice.
The Easter message lies in the allegory of The Song of Solomon. Nineteen metaphors about Jesus show us who Jesus is and what He has done for us.
The Shulamite becomes the vessel that carries the whole redemptive story of God. Solomon calls the Shulamite his garden enclosed. Within her heart is paradise and is the meeting place between God and his creation. This is a picture of the Bride of Jesus. This is us.
In Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). The faithful Gardener, the new Adam, holds believers in his cherished hands. He created a paradise in our hearts for our needs to be met by God. Adam and Eve enjoyed His divine presence. Solomon tells the Shulamite that He has done the same in her.
No longer the Garden of Eden, closed up, refusing entrance, the Shulamite’s heart is now the place where God meets with her. She claims the king has formed a sanctuary in her. She becomes the Holy of Holies. (See Song of Solomon 8:1, 2, TPT). The Bride of Christ also is the garden of paradise and carries the same advantage to meet with God. We become the Holy of Holies.
Solomon lists nine spices and fruit planted in his bride, which are sacred elements offered in the temple by the priest to meet with God. Not like the nine fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians for relationship among God’s people, but those spices found in each one of us who have surrendered to the cross and now lives in Christ’s resurrected life.
The bride of Christ carries His presence by the Holy Spirit. King Solomon, the bridegroom-king says, “I have gathered from your heart, my equal, my bride ... I delight in gathering my sacred spice, all the fruits of my life I have gathered from within you, my paradise garden” (Song of Solomon 5:1, TPT). This gives us reason for praising His name.
Final brushstroke: Jesus values our lives. So, we must value our lives. He calls us equal to Him through the work He has done in us. He calls us His paradise garden. He has gathered sacred spice, all the fruits of His life He has placed in us. He has given us resurrected life. There is no glory in the grave.
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