Why Should I Be
Jubilant?
“Make a joyful
noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve
the Lord with gladness! Come into his
presence with singing! Know that the Lord
is God! It is he that made us, and we
are his;
we are his people,
and the sheep of his pasture. For the Lord
is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all
generations.”[1]
As I read this passage, the though
occurred, “Why should I be jubilant; why make a joyful noise?” The answer which came to mind was: because of
salvation. I mean, that would exactly
right. Everything revolves around
salvation, the fact that we are not consigned to perish. But to be jubilant all the time; is that not
a bit much? However, I think Pope Francis
wrote his encyclical on joy for the very purpose that many people are not
jubilant over salvation. I think that,
perhaps, many times I inadvertently view salvation as a gift and, “once you
have it, you possess it for all time”—unless I commit a mortal sin. Then there are those times when I feel so
inadequate that it causes me to wonder if salvation even apples to me. When one views salvation in that sense, it is
very understandable why there is not a constant joyful shout to the Lord.
A person might shout for joy upon
receiving a gift, but a continuous joyful shout after you receive it? No.
The Chicago Cubs went over a century without winning a World
Series. When they did finally win one,
there was a celebration. However, that
celebration was short. Am I sometimes treating
salvation as if God owes it to me since I went to Him for it? This would be a wrong view; therefore, let’s
contemplate on the psalm for a while.
The title of our psalm, according to
most Bibles, is a psalm of thanksgiving or praise, and it is. Nonetheless, I like what St. Augustine—probably
reading from the Vulgate—says about the psalm.
He says it is a psalm of confession.
This would be a more powerful rendering in that it points to what should
be occurring in our minds.
Today, when we speak of confession,
we think of going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and confessing sins that
we have committed. There is more to
confession than that: Our lives are a confession of what we believe. I can believe that there is a God; however,
if I live a life of disobedience, I am confessing that I really do not believe
that the god I believe in is GOD. If I
truly believe that God is who He says He is, I would live a life that confessed
that belief—at least, a life of attempted obedience. If we believe that God will not hold us
accountable for our sins, then we confess that God is not Just in that he does
not require justice. Then we do not
believe in God. God has mercy on the
unjust person by transforming him/her into a just person. God has mercy on the sinner by transforming
the sinner into a saint. It is for this
reason that the psalm can be called “a psalm of confession.” This confession leads to jubilation. However, let turn an ear to St. Augustine and
what he has to say regarding our passage.
“What then is it ‘to jubilate’? For the title of the present Psalm especially
makes us give good heed to this word, for it is entitled, ‘A Psalm of
confession.’ What does it mean to
jubilate with confession? It is the
sentiment … expressed in another Psalm (89:15): ‘Blessed is the people that
understands jubilance.’ Surely, that
which--being understood--makes blessed is something great. … Let us therefore
run unto this blessing; let us understand jubilance; let us not pour it forth
without understanding. Of what use is it
to be jubilant and obey this Psalm (a forced jubilation, one without
enthusiasm) when it says, ‘Jubilate unto the Lord, all you lands,’ and not to
understand what jubilance is, so that our voice only may be jubilant, our heart
not so? For the understanding is the
utterance of the heart.”[2] A jubilation because I am told to jubilate is
a forced jubilation, a false jubilation, because it is without
understanding. The jubilation that the
psalmist is referring to is one from the heart.
St. Augustine expounds: “One who
jubilates utters not words, but it is a certain sound of joy without words for
it is the expression of a mind poured forth in joy, expressing--as far as it is
able--the affection, but not compassing the feeling... Those who are engaged at
work in the fields are most given to jubilation; reapers, or vintagers, or those
who gather any of the fruits of the earth, delighted with the abundant produce,
and rejoicing in the very richness and exuberance of the soil, sing in
exultation; and among the songs which they utter in words, they put in certain
cries without words in the exultation of a rejoicing mind; and this is what is
meant by jubilation.”[3]
Salvation, in Scripture, is viewed
in three tenses: past, present, and future.
We have been saved through Baptism; we are being saved through God’s
grace and our obedience; and we will be saved in the end. When our thoughts are turned to God and we
desire Him and His will, this is from God, for our sanctification. This encourages us, making us to want to do
more. We are in a war in which victory
is guaranteed—as long as we remain in the battle. Because God is turning our thoughts and
desires to Himself, we rejoice because He is giving us proof of His love and
concern for us. This is what St.
Augustine is referring to. If my thoughts
and desires of God is of my own doing, then I could not rejoice in God; I would
just be giving myself the proverbial “pat on the back.” Because it is from God, then I have joy and my
very life becomes a living praise to God.
Returning to our saint and his
words, he says: “Consider yourself; see what you are: earth and ashes… Consider
who you are and what you are to see: a man to see God! I recognize not the man’s deserving, but the
mercy of God. Praise therefore Him who
has mercy.”[4]
To know that God is working in me by
putting His thoughts and desires in me shows me and proves that He is
exhibiting mercy. This causes me to be
jubilant, and causes me to want to serve Him with gladness. God is no longer just something to believe in;
He is real and working in us. This,
along with the Sacraments, helps solidify our Hope. Then, when we are confronted with hardships,
we know that those hardships will be for our sanctification and that He has not
rejected us. That God is having mercy on
us and transforming us into the image of His Son, Jesus gives us the ultimate
reason why we should be jubilant.
I will conclude with St. Augustine’s
words: “‘O serve the Lord with gladness.’ He addresses you, whoever you are who
endure all things in love and rejoice in hope. ‘Serve the Lord,’ not in the bitterness of
murmuring but in the ‘gladness of love.’
‘Come before His presence with rejoicing.’ It is easy to rejoice outwardly; rejoice
before the presence of God. Let not the
tongue be too joyful; let the conscience be joyful. ‘Come before His presence with a song’.”[5] Lord, may my life be a continual confession
of praise to You.
[1]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Ps 100:1–3, 5.
[2]
Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin:
Expositions on the Book of Psalms, 1888, 8, 488.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.,
489.
[5] Ibid.,
490.
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