Thoughts for the Day

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches....
Praise the Lord!

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I have hundreds of memories of wonderfully uplifting services in small churches and huge cathedrals, but all of them involve singing I notice. I value quiet, meditative services, but my soul is lifted when hymns or anthems are involved, because they are musical prayers. One of these occurred at the start of an all-age pilgrimage of over a thousand people who walked between Worcester and Hereford. As they sang 'You shall go out with joy' the huge west doors opened and the enormous crowd streamed out with banners flying, accompanied by toddlers and babies in buggies, and a host of dogs on leads.

The second wonderful memory was in a church in the Midlands, possibly in Kidderminster. As the congregation began to sing the chorus of 'Lord the light of your love is shining' which was then a fairly new Christian song, a group of teenage boys and girls erupted into the church with huge streams of ribbons and proceeded to twirl and dance their way down the aisle towards the sanctuary like the image of a flowing river. It was both memorable and moving, and added a whole new dimension to the words we were singing.

Today's psalm reminds us to sing praises to God. Christian hymns and songs involve all our understanding of God and of our faith. Songs of trust will deepen our faith in God; they will draw a congregation together; they will transport us back to past memories (many people with dementia can still sing 'All things bright and beautiful'); and they are one of the main ways in which we offer our praise and our prayers to God.

Almighty God,
may we continue to offer You our praise,
rejoicing that You who designed our world,
still nurture and care for its existence,
and for us Your children.
We praise You sometimes in song and dance,
but always in our hearts,
worshipping You at the break of day
and in the evening.
May we never get too busy
to lift our souls to You in humble praise.
Amen.