Praise

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; let this be known throughout the earth. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 12:4–6 NASB

These verses were in my hymn devotional today. And knowing the truth of praising God even in the midst of being pressed on every side, I did thank Him in my prayer journal and as I sang the hymn that went along with it. (I really love the old hymns because of the depth of truth and doctrine in the words! Not to say that today’s Christian songs don’t have the same, many do, but they usually touch me on a different level.)


“Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above”

Sing praise to God Who reigns above, the God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled and every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.

What God’s almighty power hath made His gracious mercy keepeth,
By morning glow or evening shade His watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
Within the kingdom of His might, Lo! all is just and all is right:
To God all praise and glory.

The Lord is never far away, but through all grief distressing,
An ever present help and stay, our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand, God gently leads the chosen band:
To God all praise and glory.

Thus, all my toilsome way along, I sing aloud Thy praises,
That earth may hear the grateful song my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart, both soul and body bear your part:
To God all praise and glory.

Let all who name Christ’s holy Name give God all praise and glory;
Let all who own His power proclaim aloud the wondrous story!
Cast each false idol from its throne, for Christ is Lord, and Christ alone:
To God all praise and glory.


I went to bed last night, late, discouraged, really feeling the pressure of deadlines and the challenge of an editing project that I expected to be challenging but was proving to be more difficult than I had planned on. Plus a meeting I had after our Wednesday evening Bible study went until 9:45. (It was a good meeting, longer than usual because it had been delayed by two weeks and we had lots to discuss.)

I also wrote an e-mail to the editor who was expecting to see this project on Monday, telling her I would have half the assignment completed by then, but not the other half. I’ve been praying all week about this as I worked, knowing that in myself the work was stretching my abilities and that I couldn’t do it alone.

So this morning, I knew when I woke that I needed to praise God just for who He is.

And when I came downstairs to get breakfast I quickly checked my e-mail to see if there was anything I needed to deal with right away. My editor had responded, telling me not to worry, I could have two extra weeks! Wow! I didn’t expect that at all, but yes, I took them. *Smile*

God is so good!


Daily Bible reading: Thursday, February 28—Exodus 27–28; Philemon
Friday, February 29—free reading day J