The Greatness of God and the Joyfulness of having Christ as Lord and Saviour!

29 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 145:3.       Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and his greatness is unsearchable (beyond our understanding).

And it’s the Sunday after Christmas, but the joy is still flooding the land in glorious celebration of our Lord and Saviour’s miraculous and wonderful birth! And all God’s people said a joyful and most grateful; ‘Thank You Lord for the gift of Jesus at that Christmas so long ago! It’s really been the beginning of the best gift you’ve given us, after our initial breath of life; the birth of a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord! And consequently, from Him and His sinless, selfless sacrifices flows the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the wonderful option of salvation and eternal life! 

And we’re oh so sorry for those who refuse to accept that marvellous option of Light and LOVE that you have provided and foolishly prefer to hob knob with the prince of darkness, and thus endure eventual separation from you, our most wonderful Creator and God. And the amazing point is that you did not have to give us that option of escaping from our sinless lives and the eventual death it causes, but you simply did it out of your immeasurable, unconditional LOVE for us, your most important creation. And for that we sincerely thank you each and every day…in Jesus’ name. Amen!’ 

And now, having offered up a prayer of praise and thanksgiving, let’s raise the roof of heaven with sweet sacrifices of song, singing that marvellous ‘Hymn of Joy’ – better known as ‘Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.’  It’s based on a poem written by Henry van Dyke in 1907 with the intention of musically setting it to the famous “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony, Symphony No. 9. And is it ever a most appropriate song of worship for this particular Christmas season when our lives are flooded with joy at Christ’s birth. 

So, in a sweet, scintillating up-tempo version of the Hymn of Joy…let’s sing: ‘Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of LOVE; Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee, Op’ning to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day! 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain Call us to rejoice in Thee. Thou art giving and forgiving, Ever blessing, ever blest, Wellspring of the joy of living, Ocean depth of happy rest! 

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, All who live in LOVE are Thine; Teach us how to LOVE each other, Lift us to the joy divine. Mortals, join the happy chorus, Which the morning stars began; Father LOVE is reigning o’er us; Brother LOVE binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, Victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward In the triumph song of life. You bring us joy, joy, joy, We adore thee…You bring us joy, joy, joy!’ 

Oh friends, does the Lord our God and Saviour, ever bring us joy! The greatest joy that there is to offer, salvation and eternal life! And did we ever light up heaven with our heartfelt sincerity and joy as we sang that wonderful hymn! And this commentary gives the song its rightful pips: ‘This hymn is generally considered by hymnologists to be one of the most joyous expressions of hymn lyrics in the English language.’ And we certainly cannot argue with that. 

But now, on a different note, let’s consider what the song is really about? As another commentary tells us, the author Van Dyke wrote thus of this hymn. ‘These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.’ 

Wow! And that it certainly is! I like how the author expresses that we Christians will not be afraid that scientific knowledge will destroy religious beliefs, neither will earthly revolutions overthrow the kingdom of God! Because they are both indestructible! Remember what the Bible says about God and His Word? 

‘For the word of God is quick (living, alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts (able to judge) and intents (intentions) of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in (hidden from) his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (must give account to).’ (Heb. 4:12-13) 

Yes friends, the Bible, the Word of God is not an ordinary book, it is alive and kicking, so powerful that it reaches into the inner recesses of man’s mind to discern his thoughts and intentions. Or, as this commentary so aptly puts it: ‘God’s Word can penetrate through all the layers of impurity and get to the true central issues of life. In line with this conception, we can see that the Bible truly has two edges: condemnation and restoration.’ And I certainly could not have declared that truth any better. 

What we must also remember is that God’s eyes see us as though we’re naked, thus we’re unable to hide from Him behind any foolish excuse or pretence. But getting back to our hymn, it’s basically a song of praise to our great God, to His LOVING-KINDNESS towards us, who don’t deserve one iota of it. And there are so many scriptures on praising God, especially in the Psalms, that we can spend the whole day researching them and still not be done. (smile) However, we’ll close with some verses of this psalm of praise from Bruh David, titled, ‘God’s Unsearchable Greatness.’ 

Please offer praise with me: ‘I will extoll (praise) thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and his greatness is unsearchable (beyond our understanding). One generation shall praise thy works to another, and declare thy mighty acts… The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.’ (Ps. 145: 1-4; 8-10) 

Yes my fellow saints, that is only a little of the great and constant praise our God deserves, and what we are required to give to Him, if we are true believers. So, without further ado, let’s ramp up our praise level nuh, like we so badly need to do in these evil and ungodly times. Much LOVE!

…true joy…which is of the soul…can only be attained…when Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 July 2020 Psalm 145:3.

01 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 145:3.     ​Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable (beyond our understanding).
 

Happy Canada Day my Scrip-Bit friends and family! Yes, today we’re celebrating the great day of 1 July 1867 when the separate colonies of Canada (Ontario, Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were brought into a Confederation within the British Empire known as the Dominion of Canada. And since then baby, have we ever been going strong! And I don’t care what anybody says, Canada is still the best big country in the world! And do I hear an Amen? 

For sure, as a loud and grateful shout of ‘Amen’ does emanate from God’s people! (smile) But please remember my people, the pandemic is still upon us, and though the lockdown has been eased a fair amount, we’re nowhere near out of the woods yet, so we still have to be very careful and protect ourselves and those around us. So please, no rash and foolish gatherings and celebrations today. 

And I know that some people are pleased as punch with a holiday in the middle of the week, while others are displeased, preferring to have their public holidays on the weekend, but let’s just be thankful that we do have an extra day off – with pay to boot– and less likelihood of catching the virus, as most of us spend a quiet day at home, doing some of what Bruh David so proudly declared in Psalm 145, his psalm of praise. 

‘I will extol (praise) thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable (beyond our understanding).’ (Ps. 145:1-3) And is that last verse ever so true my people! Our God is the greatest! His people have been saying that from the beginning of time, and we, in our time, have also discovered that it’s the awesome truth! There’s none other like him! 

That’s why Bruh David continues: ‘One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour (splendour) of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of thy terrible (awesome) acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly (eagerly) utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.’ (Ps. 145: 4-7) 

Oh my people are we following in Bruh David’s footsteps, praising our great God, telling of His glorious majesty, His marvellous works, His wonderful goodness to the children of men, and singing of His amazing righteousness? If we are not, then we are doing Him a great injustice! How can we not sing the praises of a God, who as Bruh David says: ‘The Lord is generous, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps. 145:8-9) 

Mama Yo! What a magnanimous and magnificent God we serve my brethren! He’s so wonderful that ‘All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.’ (Ps. 145:10-12) Yes friends, that’s our number one purpose here on this earth, to make known to all and sundry the great power and might, mercy and grace of our wonderful God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

And if we’re not doing that in some form and fashion, we’re therefore not fulfilling our earthly purpose. And we can’t give the excuse that we don’t have the means to do so, because there’s never been a time in man’s history when the gospel of Christ can be more easily spread, for technology has given us numerous ways to do so. That means we must have a serious conversation with ourselves and see how we can improve, and with God’s help do so, because the good news of the gospel is desperately needed in these dangerous and uncertain times. 

And in these deadly days, we need to remember more than ever that ‘The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait (look expectantly) upon thee; and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing.’ (Ps. 145: 14-16) That means friends that the Lord will look after us in these dreadful times, if we fix our minds and actions on Him. We will not suffer harm or lack any good and necessary thing! And all God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘ Praise the Lord! Praise his holy Name! Praise Him for His goodness to those who call upon Him!’ 

Thus we can say with the utmost certainty: ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear (reverence) him: he will also hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps. 145: 17-21) Wow mih bredrin! Is there any other supposed Deity like our great God? Absolutely not! There couldn’t be, because He is the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING GOD! 

And if you sincerely believe that, then let’s go home with our mouths singing His awesome praise through our Wednesday Wail. All together now in strong voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if we are wise, we will keep looking steadfastly to that future and will also keep telling the rest of the world about it! Much LOVE!

…praise Him, praise him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…