Tuesday, August 8, 2023  

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Today’s Scripture Reading 
Psalm 66

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;

sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.

Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.

All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.”

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.

He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him,

who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations — let the rebellious not exalt themselves.

Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,

who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.

For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;

you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,

those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats.

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me. (NRSV)

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Reflection

The Lord is to be praised for so many things. The beauty of creation. The majesty of the cosmos. The love for us creatures that sent Jesus to earth for our redemption. The list is endless.

Psalm 66 is specific, however, exhorting us to sing praises to God for delivering the Israelites from the pharaoh and the torments of slavery in Egypt. The vivid scenes put us right in the action, with the sands of the Red Sea under our feet and with memories of defeat and hardship etched in our hearts. And when we and the Israelites make it to the other side to freedom, “there we will rejoice in him.” Right there, by the waterside, sweaty from our flight, escaping by the skin of our teeth. There, by the water’s edge, we will sing praises to our creator and deliverer.

God should be praised for grand things, but also for very specific things. God is always at work in the world and always has been. While it is right to thank God for our peace of mind and our healthy family, we should not forget to praise God for positive medical reports, hard-fought legal battles, or each and every day of staying alcohol-free. We should sing praises for the presence in our lives of the hard-working legislator, the kind doctor, and the conscientious police officer. God always has an eye on the nations and is steadfast in love.

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Prayer
Gracious and everlasting God, give me the heart and the mind to praise you rightly, for all the blessings in my life, both the ones I know and the ones I cannot see. Keep iniquity from my heart, so that my praises ring true. Amen.

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Written by Jim Garner, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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