Article May 2, 2011 Issue

Wearing the ‘garment of praise’

Bill Badger

Hymn 150 in the Christian Science Hymnal asserts that God “. . . givest, for mourning, the garment of praise” (William P. McKenzie). What does it mean to be clad in this “garment of praise”?

We may think of praise as something we do to show our gratitude to God. But have you ever thought about it as a two-way relationship? God, infinite Love—the only reality, as Christian Science explains—has nothing but praise and love for all of His creation. God knows, and is, only good. He is praising His beloved image and likeness—each of us—eternally, including at this very moment.

God’s great affection for His idea is expressed in the Bible’s account of Jesus’ baptism: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16, 17).

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