Monday, September 12, 2016

Today’s Reading  |  Psalm 98   

O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gotten him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
   make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
   the world and those who live in it.
Let the floods clap their hands;
   let the hills sing together for joy
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
   to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
   and the peoples with equity. (NRSV)

Reflection
 “O sing to the Lord a new song,
  for he has done marvelous things.”

Take a moment to think on how God has acted in your life or maybe the lives of those close to you. I have a number of such moments, large and small. Think of how God has saved you, has turned your life over. Given you a new way of understanding, of acting, of being. Maybe a moment’s breath in a hard time. Another chance. A new hope.

Then yes, sing praises. But in particular, sing a new song. How did you take that new moment, that chance? Did you do something new with it, new with your life? Did you let go of what no longer serves you or the world? What does it mean to be saved?

Now imagine this for the whole earth. For all peoples, for each person. For the world--the sea and all that fills it, the hills and those who live in them. What might this mean? What could this look like? Can we even imagine this?

God gives us tastes of this, again and again, glimpses of what this new life might look like. Have we lived into that promise? Like everything worthwhile, it takes practice. So practice living new, as if you were no longer bound. Practice living as if the whole world were God’s. And sing, sing to the Lord a new song.

Prayer
Lord God, I do not think I will live to see your victory to the ends of the earth; I do not think any of us alive now will. But help me live as though I might. Amen.

Written by Anne Ellis, Program Manager for Congregational Life

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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