Psalm 71:23

Psalm 71:23

My lips will shout for joy

The years 2,000 and 2021 were dominated by Covid and our lives were restricted by lockdowns and various other constraints, designed to keep us all safe. As I write, it is the end of February 2022 and this week all the rules have been lifted and we can pursue some kind of normality again. Shortly, my wife and I will be joining others at the Queens Hall in Halstead, to dance, to wave banners, to sing praise and to pray for the people of Ukraine, who were invaded by Russia this week. So, the world lurches from one crisis to another but our God and our praises remain the same. 

Most of the time, we are restrained in our praises but that is not what the Lord God intended. David spells it out in this verse, “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praise to you – I whom you have delivered.” God wants us to SHOUT for joy, to let go of our inhibitions, to proclaim His praises at the tops of our voices. “Make some noise,” He says, if you really want to honour me, Forget about your own problems and hang-ups and rejoice in me. 

And what do we sing praise about? The Psalm says, “His deliverance”. Delivered from sin, guilt and shame. Delivered from Hades, death and the terror of the grave. Delivered from Satan’s control and the temptations of the world. Delivered from my sinful nature and the pointlessness of a life lived for self. Hallelujah Lord, my lips will shout for joy! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more