Friday, October 7, 2023 - SING TO THE LORD

 

"I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen." (Luther's Morning Prayer)

Friday, October 7, 2023 - Day 279  - (Today’s Bible readings: Ezekiel 34; Psalm 95; Hebrews 7:1-10)

SING TO THE LORD

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95:1-5 ESV)

God’s children can truly sing to the Lord because He is the “great King above all gods.” He is the God of creation who made the sea and the land. He is the God of salvation through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. This makes Him “the rock of our salvation.”

Any attempts to earn forgiveness and salvation are like sinking sand, offering empty promises with no reason to sing. But we believe in the free and gracious gifts of “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” Therefore, we sing!  

O, Sing to the Lord, O sing God a new song,

O, sing to the Lord, O sing God a new song,

O, sing to the Lord, O sing God a new song.

O, sing to our God, O sing to our God.

For God is the Lord! And God has done wonders.

For God is the Lord! And God has done wonders.

For God is the Lord! And God has done wonders.

O sing to our God, O sing to our God.

  (“O Sing to the Lord”, Lutheran Service Book, CPH 2006, #808 stanzas 1&2)

Heavenly Father, because of Your overwhelming love in sending Jesus to save sinners like me, I will sing Your praises for the rest of my life and beyond. In Jesus’ saving name. Amen. 

Pastor David Paape