For the leader. A psalm of David.
A
Surely, I wait for the Lord;
who bends down to me and hears my cry,
Draws me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the muddy clay,
Sets my feet upon rock,
steadies my steps,
And puts a new song in my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
Many shall look on in fear
and they shall trust in the Lord.
Blessed the man who sets
his security in the Lord,
who turns not to the arrogant
or to those who stray after falsehood.
You, yes you, O Lord, my God,
have done many wondrous deeds!
And in your plans for us
there is none to equal you.
Should I wish to declare or tell them,
too many are they to recount.
Sacrifice and offering you do not want;
you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
so I said, “See; I come
with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
I delight to do your will, my God;
your law is in my inner being!”
When I sing of your righteousness
in a great assembly,
See, I do not restrain my lips;
as you, Lord, know.
I do not conceal your righteousness
within my heart;
I speak of your loyalty and your salvation.
I do not hide your mercy or faithfulness from a great assembly.
Lord, may you not withhold
your compassion from me;
May your mercy and your faithfulness
continually protect me.
B
But evils surround me
until they cannot be counted.
My sins overtake me,
so that I can no longer see,
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my courage fails me.
Lord, graciously rescue me!
Come quickly to help me, Lord!
May those who seek to destroy my life
be shamed and confounded.
Turn back in disgrace
those who desire my ruin.
Let those who say to me “Aha!”
Be made desolate on account of their shame.
While those who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who long for your salvation
always say, “The Lord is great.”
Though I am afflicted and poor,
my Lord keeps me in mind.
You are my help and deliverer;
my God, do not delay!
Psalms 40:1-18
Again, it is nice to end the week with a psalm of thanksgiving. I sometimes need these reminders to be thankful for the numerous gifts of grace in my life. As the psalmist proclaims, “You, O Lord, my God, have done many wondrous deeds! …Should I wish to declare or tell them, too many are they to recount.”
That’s so true, isn’t it? Sometimes, it’s just difficult to even recognize when we are receiving these blessings. I mean, we all look into the face of a newborn baby or hear a stirring musical performance or receive an unexpected kindness and feel thankful. But we need to also remain aware of all the simple blessings in our everyday lives.
I am reminded of one of my favorite tunes from Godspell. Whatever you think of the show, these lyrics (found here) portray a beautiful message:
We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land..
by Stephen Schwartz
But it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand..
He sends us snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain…
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain…
All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above
So thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love…
We thank thee then, O Father, for all things bright and good
The seed time and the harvest, our life our health our food
No gifts have we to offer for all thy love imparts
But that which thou desirest, our humble thankful hearts!
All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above..
So thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love..
I really wanna thank you Lord!
I think that just about sums it up. Just the breezes and the sunshine should be wonderful reminders of how blessed we are. And all God wants in return are our humble thankful hearts!
So let’s proclaim our thanks to God today …and more regularly after today. May we always say, “The Lord is great!”