Sing a Psalm

-

Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. (Psalm 95:1-2)

What is a psalm? We know there is a book of those things in the middle of our Bibles, but what exactly is the purpose of a psalm? In Old Testament times, they used poems and songs in worship, known as psalms. They were often recited or sung while a stringed instrument (similar to a harp) was played. I don't play a musical instrument, but I am capable of raising my voice in worship to the Lord. Does all my worship sound like a 'poem' or 'psalm'? Not always, but even words of thanks are words of worship!

We are instructed to 'shout joyfully' to the Rock of our salvation. Ever just feel like you needed to express something to God, but didn't know how? Maybe you just needed to let loose with a good old, "Wahoo", or the like! What did David show us in the Book of Psalms? He shared his experiences with God - highs and lows, rough seasons and seasons of plenty. He shared his fears, anxious thoughts, and dashed hopes. Equally important to note is that he also shared how God helped with each of those fears, anxious thoughts, and disappointments.

The purpose of a psalm is to express the heart. Does our heart always want to shout 'hymns of praise'? Nope! In fact, there are times when we just want to cry out in our disappointment and despair, knowing that someone who loves us so deeply will hear us and take notice of our extreme need. I know my heart is free to express whatever my spirit and soul needs to express, and God is not offended in the least when those things are not always joy-filled or triumphant.

How about you? Do you feel free to express your spirit and soul to God openly and honestly? You can, you know. It just takes the first word, followed closely by the second, and so on. Why not open your time with God today with your very own psalm - words that express your heart to the one who holds your heart so very, very close to his? You might be amazed how soon those words of worry, dashed hopes, and frustrations begin to turn into words of trust, vision, and peace. Just sayin!

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment if this message has spoken to your heart.

Popular posts from this blog

Steel in your convictions

-
Steel in your convictions - what does this mean?  Winston Churchill once said, "Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning."  C.S. Lewis echoed his words when he penned, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn't just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.  (I Thessalonians 1:3-5 The Message) God's hand is on us for something special.  We serve a God who is not only supernatural, he actually influences us to move beyond the natural into the abundance of all he is!  It is this very encouragement which gives us transforming power to live with courage in times of uncertainty. When God begins to pour into our lives, he is "pouring" the right stuff.  This is what Paul was r
Read more

Sentimental gush

-
9-11  So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 MSG) Sentimental gush - that is what I kind of feel when I watch some of those sappy "and they lived happily after" love stories. Yes, I believe people can "be in love" and that "love will find a way" and all those other cliches about love. Don't think I am down on a solidly committed and growing relationship - it is just that our world often portrays love in ways that are totally gushy and then doesn't show the very 'hard' side of that loving being vital and vibrant
Read more

Is that a wolf I hear?

-
But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. (Romans 6:23) Have you discovered that you no longer need to listen to sin tell you what to do anymore? If you are like the millions upon millions of others who have said 'yes' to Jesus, you likely still have a bit of a struggle in this area. Sin just doesn't 'go away' when you say 'yes' to Jesus - the ability for it to control you does, but the enticement to sin is still presenting itself. The issue is not whether sin still entices, it is really an issue of which voice we will listen to the most frequently! We can listen to our own inward lusts (desires), or we can listen to the sti
Read more