by Pastor Cecil | Sep 18, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 145:9-12
“The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. All You have made will praise You, O LORD; Your saints will extol You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.”
In 1225, when he was feeling ill and losing his sight, Francis of Assisi
wrote about what was always on his heart: the praise of God. In “All
Creatures of Our God and King,” Francis’ love for God and the world He made comes out very strongly.
Probably because he lived such a simple life, he “noticed” things that we, in our busy-ness, overlook. Francis believed that all earth’s creatures get their life from God and that we all depend on Him for our continual existence.
“All Creatures of Our God and King“
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
O, praise Him, Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam
Thou silver moon with softer gleam
O praise Him, O praise Him,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along,
O, praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
O, praise Him, O praise Him,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let all things their creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
O, praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O, praise Him, O, praise Him,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O, praise Him! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
O, praise Him, O, praise Him,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
To access All Creatures of Our God and King, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/allcreaturesofourgodandking in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 11, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, in 1680, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. One day near Dusseldorf, Germany, he wrote the hymn which is this week’s featured hymn.
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty“
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, t he King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
To access Praise the the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 8, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 31:23-24
“Love the LORD, all His saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud He pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.”
I “hope” he chooses me! I “hope” he chooses me! Those were the words that went through my mind as sides were being chosen for some game when I was a young boy. Suffice it to say that I was usually one of the last to be called. More like a booby-prize than a cherished prize.
That concept of the meaning of the word “hope” seems to be all too common. It is thought of as wishing for something that probably will not happen, but we know the likelihood is very slim.
Let me correct that idea for us once and for all. The Hebrew word for “hope” as used here is the word, yachal. It carries with it the meaning of expectation. Do you hear that? It is waiting for something the Lord has prepared especially for us!
Please read that last sentence over one more time. It is not what we desire for ourselves, but what God wants to do in and through us. I think the greatest joy in life is to be used of God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 21, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 90:1-2
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” is a hymn by Isaac Watts and paraphrases Psalm 90. It originally consisted of nine stanzas. In present usage, however, the hymn is usually limited to stanzas one, two, three, five and nine.
The hymn was originally part of The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by Watts in 1719. It has often been sung for special occasions in England. It was sung in 1941, at a religious service on board HMS Prince of Wales attended by Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the conference creating the Atlantic Charter. It was also sung at the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965.
Later composers subsequently incorporated the tune in their own works. For example, George Handel used the tune in an anthem entitled, “O Praise the Lord.”
“Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past“
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guide while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
To access Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/ogodourhelpinagespast in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 21, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
I was born and raised in the state of Washington. Each summer our family would travel back to the panhandle of Oklahoma to visit my mother’s family. It was hot and dry out there on the plains, but there was a concrete water tank for the cattle—and for a small boy to play near and get wet.
I remember one day when I repeatedly kept getting wet. My mom would yell, but my grandma would laugh. (She always was on my side). Grandma found some old clothes and told me that now if I got wet it wouldn’t matter. Immediately I ran to the tank and jumped in! That was not what she intended for me to do, so I was now in trouble with both mom and grandma.
There is a mental activity that causes me considerable pain. It is when I recall sinful things I did when I was a young boy. I know those things caused my parents no end of frustration, but now I know they grieved God as well.
Reflecting upon specific incidents from the days of my life, young or old, I often wish I had made better decisions. It was not that I was such a terrible person, but rather that I made choices without first spending time in prayer and waiting upon God.
Here in Psalm 139:23-24, the Psalmist is expressing his prayer for the searchlight of God’s presence to illuminate the dark areas of his life. I can echo that prayer for my own life. More than anything I want God to search me and reveal to me those things He wants me confess as sins. Here am I Lord, change me!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 3, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 46:1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah”
Joyce and I have been reading through the book of Psalms. It is absolutely astounding that David was beset by so many storms. He was attacked on all sides by his enemies who desired to take his life. Do you feel that way sometimes?
King Saul was a demented king who imagined that David was attempting to take the kingdom from him. (Actually it was the Lord who had rejected Saul because of his wickedness and failing to keep the Lord in control of his life.)
In many of his psalms, David cried out to the Lord and then praised the Lord for giving him a safe place of refuge. That is the same with us today. We may be tossed and torn by the storms of life, but the Lord always gives us a haven of rest. That is the hymn for this week.
“The Haven of Rest“
My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying,
“Make Me your choice”;
And I entered the “Haven of Rest”!
Refrain: I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,
In Jesus I’m safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The “Haven of Rest” is my Lord.
Refrain
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have
A home in the “Haven of Rest.”
Refrain
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the “Haven of Rest.”
Refrain
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
And say, “My Beloved is mine.”
Refrain:
Whatever you do, do not let the Savior pass you by!
To access The Haven of Rest, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/thehavenofrest in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
