Praise to the Lord the Almighty, The King of creation
O my soul praise Him For He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear now to His temple draw near
Praise Him in glad adoration
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
By: Joachim Neander 1680, trans. Catherine Winkworth 1863
Listen to this modern version of this majestic hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.
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Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
As we begin our journey through this hymn ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive and then issue this call to worship. Be sure to find your place in the praise. Let’s think about this.
Invitation
Can you hear it? The call to worship. The invitation to come and join the praise. Maybe you can hear the music faintly. Possibly you simply feel draw. You know something is happening and you want to be a part of it.
It is the sound of the music to which you are responding? Or the call of the Spirit? What do think made David glad?
He had been a musician since he was young. Several Psalms are attributed to him. This poet-musician, literally a psalmist, must have loved everything about drawing near to God, especially with others as is evidenced this following passage. But what do you think it was that made him glad?
All ye who hear now to His temple draw near
A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1 ESV
The invitation that begins in the inner-working of the soul rings out to all who have ears to hear. It echoes across all time and space but not everyone will respond, only those who the Spirit gives ears to hear the invitation. Give thanks that you are hearing the invitation even now.
We can worship God in the quietness of our soul but that is simply not enough. We must gather with others and join together to offer the glory due His name. Do you have a group of Christians that you join with regularly to worship God? If not, find one soon.
God, thank You for calling me to worship with others.
RESONATE!
If you are not gathering with others to offer God praise why not start now? You can play your favorite worship song and raise your voice in your car or at home, but doing so with others is different. Part of it is the discipline, but another part is the community. It is a privilege so take advantage of it. Start by making this your simple prayer.”God, thank You for calling me to worship with others.”
Glad
David was glad. The Psalmist below exhorts us to gladness. Why should our adoration be marked like this?
Think about it. The One who made everything has made Himself known to us. Not only that but He has granted us health and salvation. As if that were not enough already, He then extends a call or command to come together with others and offer Him praise.
This may seem a little heavy-handed, God commanding us to praise. What is truly remarkable is not that He does so, but why. He could do so simply because He deserves it, but that is not all. He does so because He knows that bringing Him the praise He deserves reorients us toward Him which is as great a blessing as all the other things He has done.
Praise Him in glad adoration
A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-2 ESV
We praise Him in glad adoration, not just adoration. Joyful gladness should mark the praise that we bring. Do a quick self-assessment. Could that description be offered for the praise you regularly offer to God? If not, determine today to bring him that kind of praise.
Not just adoration, glad adoration. Adoration that you are pleased, even delighted to offer. God wants us to be able to find great joy in offering our praise, and to do so with others. This communal character of our worship is a dimension of what makes us glad. Join in, and soon.
RESONATE!
God goes one step further and enables you to offer adoration that is glad. He commands it then empowers you to offer it. You still have to respond in obedience of course, but even the ability to do that is a gift from Him. Make this your prayer today, “Spirit, make my adoration glad, and in a group.”
Lord, help me to offer the praise that You so rightly deserve. Then help me to extend that invitation to others. As I discover new depths of glad adoration empower me to bring other into it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Glad Thinking!
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Podcast 55.1 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
Praise to the Lord the Almighty, The King of creation
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Psalm 150:1-2 ESV
This entire hymn is a call to worship, or maybe more accurately a command to worship, supported by a careful and fairly comprehensive list of all the reasons why we should. We start with His position over all, having made all, Almighty King of Creation. Praise Him!
O my soul praise Him For He is thy health and salvation
Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!…who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, Psalm 103:1, 3 ESV
This next line echoes the admonition of David to His soul in response to the twofold work of God in restoring health to it as well as the body. The soul needs to be reminded of the need to praise because it is so fickle, so here is the reminder. Praise God as Healer and Savior.
All ye who hear now to His temple draw near
A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1 ESV
The invitation that begins in the inner-working of the soul rings out to all who have ears to hear. It echoes across all time and space but not everyone will respond, only those who the Spirit gives ears to hear the invitation. Give thanks that you are hearing the invitation even now.
Praise Him in glad adoration
A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-2 ESV
We praise Him in glad adoration, but just adoration. Joyful gladness should mark the praise that we bring. Do a quick self-assessment. Could that description be offered for the praise you regularly offer to God? If not, determine today to bring him that kind of praise.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.
Praise to the Lord the Almighty, The King of creation
O my soul praise Him For He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear now to His temple draw near
Praise Him in glad adoration
Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time,
Be Resonant.
The post Gladly Gather to Glorify God appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
All ye who hear now to His temple draw near –https://pixabay.com/photos/choir-choir-master-church-conductor-5781096/
Praise Him in glad adoration –https://pixabay.com/photos/prayer-worship-church-religion-4979713/
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