Re: Vitalising
Ian El-Paget
January 27, 2025
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Listen to this daily worship
Psalm 19 (NIV)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
I love this psalm.
It was probably the first psalm that I ever re:vitalised (a very bold statement) into a song of praise from my lips.
Over the years iterations developed into two songs. And I’m sure that there are a hundred more still to be re:vitalised by psalmists. Today I will share one with you for worship.
‘May the words of my mouth
and the thoughts of my heart
be pleasing to you
be pleasing to you oh lord’
This is the central prayer, that what emanates from me, might make God smile.
This psalm makes me picture myself at the shoreline of an ocean, or on a mountaintop, standing before God’s great movie screen… the heavens in full view. The luminaries in all their glory are full of praise, and I am suddenly conscious of their vastness and my relative speck-ness; their timeless presence and my momentary transience. I am constrained by a universe that spins me round yet holds me down and gravitates me to get in order; to join their song… no, to join our song, the song of the stars (yes scientists have found that our bodies contain stardust) that song is praise.
‘there is no sound
or word that wasn’t made to worship you
there is no voice but praise’
This should be understood at two levels.
At a macro level the very heavens, and in fact all that exists, exist because God spoke it into being and is continually held in existence because of those eternal words. My words are merely an overflow of His, what a thought!
At the micro level, I am guided by the Jewish alphabet which has “living letters”. Each letter is a sound and a numerical value and has great meaning which compound as words are formed. In this context literally every word and every sound relates to God and is a form of praise.
Lastly, I am impacted by the incandescence and effervescence of the ever radiant sun. Where there is sun — there is light, heat, life and nourishment. Likewise the Word of the Lord delights our soul and quickens our minds, what a pair! What an example of radiating praise, both streaming from the voice of the Father.
This is a day to use the fruit of your lips as praise, all praise. Only praise.
I offer you my song from Psalm 19 as today’s prayer!
Prayer:
The heavens declare the glory of God
The skies proclaim His works
Day after day they sing his praise
Night after night they worship you
There is no sound
Or word that wasn’t made to worship you
There is no voice but praise
the sun waits in the highest heaven
like a bridegroom for his bride
like a champion lifts his head
ready to run his race
May the words of my mouth…
and the thoughts of my heart
be pleasing to you
be pleasing to you oh Lord
the word of the Lord is more precious than gold
sweeter than honey from the comb
the word of the lord refreshes my soul
bringing joy to my heart
oh Lord god my rock and my redeemer
oh Lord God my rock
May the words of my mouth…
and the thoughts of my heart
be pleasing to you
be pleasing to you oh Lord
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