Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Psalm still sung

This is a Psalm of joy, a song of worship to God, and a call to obedience.   It's a beautiful Psalm that has inspired many modern Christian worship songs.  I linked a couple of the songs I found on You Tube.  Something wonderful happens when I sing to Lord, when I lift up my heart and focus on Him.  It's like being in a different place and feeling His presence.  Sometimes I grab an old hymnal and just sing by myself to Him.  Our Church has contemporary music, I love to worship in song there.

Psalms 95

1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

When I read these verses I smiled.  We sang this a lot in college.  It was such a great thing to be with people of different backgrounds and ideas, joining in one voice to praise God.  There's something comforting in knowing that we are considered "sheep in His hand."  We don't have to be executives, brilliant, or even beautiful in the world's eyes to please God.  Just be a sheep.  Follow and obey.  Let His rod and staff comfort us, bow down and worship Him.  I put a link to the song at the end, if you'd like to hear it. 
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

These verses describe how very important it is to God, for me to remember His miracles.  The ways He has brought me through my own personal journey.  When I am blessed, I should say Thank You.  He's not asking for a lot here.  It's also important to remember the journey itself.   It helps me fight off despair when things go wrong.  In the Old Testament, God instructed Abraham and other leaders to build an altar to remember what He has done.  The Zoning Commission wouldn't like me making huge monoliths today.  But I can mark my calendar with victories and praises, and journal.  Then I can recall them in the future.

When my husband finished grad school, he asked if he should get a ring from the school.  I told him, "Yes!  It will be our altar to the Lord for bringing us through all that!"  You would not believe the stuff we faced while he was trying to get his degree.  What a wonderful testimony for us today- nothing is impossible for God!  I know.  He showed me during grad school.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.'
11 So I swore in My wrath,'They shall not enter My rest.'"
NKJV

4 comments:

  1. God bless you. It is so comforting to be a believer and know first-hand the miracles He has worked in our lives. Thanks for sharing, Karen.

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  2. Your welcome! It sure does help us have faith when we need it.

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  3. I really like your idea of remembering through various methods the ways God has blessed us and helped us through! Amazing what a bit of gratitude can accomplish!

    Thank you for posting this beautiful bit of God's word Karen! I always appreciate it, it feeds the soul.

    Love Colleen

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  4. Thanks Colleen! So glad it was helpful. :)

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