The Importance of Acknowledging and Appreciating the Greatness of Jehovah God!

Psalm 105:1.         O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Check it our friends, it’s that marvellous warm and sunshiny day called Sunday; the day of our Lord God Jehovah, which means that all roads lead to His sanctuary for praise and worship, thanksgiving, faith and confidence building so that we can redouble our efforts on behalf of Jesus in the coming work week! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord for your grace and mercy to the undeserving children of men!’ 

And today’s song of worship is a wonderful, fairly new, (1940’s) but great Christian hymn, aptly titled ‘How Great Thou Art!’ And according to the Godtube website, it was written by Stuart K Hine, a British Methodist missionary on a mission trip to Ukraine in 1931. Apparently, he heard the Russian translation of a German song inspired by Carl Boberg’s poem “O Store Gud” (O Great God) and Hine began translating the song to English, in the process adding several verses. 

But more on that later, right now let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a heartfelt, scintillating, mid-tempo version of the song, ensuring that there’s no doubt of our sincerity. Singing: ‘O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder Consider all The works Thy Hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy pow’r throughout The universe displayed, (Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!) 

When through the woods And forest glades I wander I hear the birds Sing sweetly in the trees, When I look down From lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook And feel the gentle breeze, (Chorus) And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died, to take away my sin. (Chorus:) When Christ shall come, With shouts of acclamation, And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow In humble adoration And there proclaim, “My God, how great Thou art!” 

(Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!’ 

Oh yes my fellow believers, our God is indeed a Great God! And we did a marvellous version of the song, with all heaven having tears welling in their eyes as they worshipped with us. (smile) And this commentary on the song, also by the Godtube website is certainly refreshing and true. ‘There’s nothing like a good hymn to truly make you feel closer to the Lord. When you sing out those lyrics, it’s almost like His strength and LOVE wash over us. And one of the most powerful hymns of all time is ‘How Great Thou Art.’  

Now here is some more info on the song, per the website Godtube. They say: ‘The third verse was inspired by the conversion of villagers in Russia who cried out to God loudly as they repented and realized God’s LOVE and mercy – “And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.” 

Stuart Hine and his family left Ukraine as famine and World War Two began, and settled in Somerset, Britain, where he continued to serve as a missionary to Polish refugees. The fourth verse of “How Great Thou Art” was inspired by displaced Russians who experienced great loss and looked forward to seeing their LOVED ones again in heaven – “When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation to take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.”  

And you better believe that my fellow believers! For that day when Jesus comes to take us home will certainly be filled with joy unspeakable! And why not, since we’ll be leaving all the negatives of this evil and ungodly world behind, and going to a place where evil doesn’t exist, only LOVE and peace forevermore! Glory be! 

And what does the Bible have to say about all that exaltation of our God? Where does the author get the biblical inspiration for the hymn? Here are a few verses that might have inspired him. Listen to these verses from Psalm 90, the only psalm written by Moses, and titled ‘The Eternal God.’ He writes: ‘Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place (place of refuge) in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed (gave birth to) the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.’ (Ps. 90: 1-2) 

Then there is this passage from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the Colossians where he speaks of the Pre-eminence of Christ. ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born (first in rank) of (over) every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in (on) earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities (rulers), or powers (authorities’): all things were created by him, and for him: 

And he is before all things, and by (in) him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.’ (Col. 1:14-19) 

Ah mih people, where else can you such a magnificent Godhead eh? Absolutely nowhere else! For the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD of this universe! That’s why the psalmist proclaims, why he wisely advises us thus from Psalm 105. ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of his wondrous works. 

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our God: his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps. 105:1-7) 

And my fellow believers, it would certainly do us a lot of good if we could just take those words to heart this Sunday morning and put them into action! Much LOVE!

…we talk about our great God…but we certainly don’t walk that talk…or our world would not be in its current evil and ungodly state… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 June 2018 Psalm 90:4.

Psalm 90:4.   For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night (three hours).

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! The awesome day we gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to fellowship, worship and give Him mucho thanks and praise. So all roads ought to be leading to the Lord’s house today, especially when we consider what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ said in His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt.11:28) 

Yeh friends, the Sabbath is a day to find rest in Jesus, and you can’t find it unless you go to Him sincerely seeking Him. He’s just waiting there with open arms for us to come to Him. So let’s not keep Him waiting nuh. And today, we’ll begin the proceedings with an old favourite from the pen of Isaac Watts, ‘O (Our) God, our help in ages past.’ 

So without further ado, let’s raise our hearts, heads and voices heavenward as we offer up praise, worship and thanksgiving to our amazing and ever-LOVING God!  ‘O (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 its frame, from everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the same. 

A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an ev’ning gone, short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun. 

Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the op’ning day. O (Our) God, our Help in ages past, our Hope for years to come, be Thou our Guide while life shall last, and our eternal Home!’ 

Oh my people, what we’ve just sung is oh so true; every word of it! And they say it was based on Psalm 90, the psalm of Moses, and that seems to be also true, as Moses declares with unerring truth: ‘Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place (refuge) in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed (gave birth to) the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.’ (Ps.90:1-2)

Mama Yo! What words of indisputable truth! Before God even formed the world He was God! And since He made Israel His people, they found refuge in Him, when they were wise! And who should know better than Moses eh, since he led God’s people out of bondage from Egypt to the Promised Land, and communicated God’s laws to them during that fateful trip through the wilderness. 

And as Moses continues: ‘Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night (three hours). Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.’ (Ps.90:3-6) 

Yeh friends, in terms of time, one day to us is like a thousand years to God, since time has no real reckoning with Him. And as Peter corroborates in his message on living in the hope of the Lord’s coming: ‘But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ (2 Pet.3:8) 

Then we come back to Moses, who declares: ‘The days of our years (lives) are threescore years and ten (seventy); and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength (boast only) labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.’ (Ps.90:10)  

All of that just means friends that our lives are like vapour, we exist for moment in God’s eyes then we are gone, like the grass that grows in the morning and dies in the evening. And even if we live fourscore (80) years (29,200 days) that to God is like 29,200 years. Imagine that nuh; to us 80 years is a big deal, but to Almighty God, it’s a mere flash in the pan. (smile) 

The long and short of the story though friends, is that we are very finite, while God is infinite, plus He is our God and Creator and if we are smart we will hold on to His strong and mighty hand. And Moses was qualified to talk about death and all the other stuff since he saw a whole generation of Israelites perish in the wilderness for their disobedience. 

Thus, when he beseeches God, we ought to listen, to pay serious attention. ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom)…. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.’ (Ps.90:12,14) 

And we’ll close with some immortal words of Cousin Sol. ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she hall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’ (Prov.4:7-9) 

Truer words were never spoken my brethren! So please, please, let’s seek wisdom and understanding through the Lord’s word, which leads to obedience, then we’ll be bestowed with the grace and glory we so greatly desire. Much LOVE!

…the only real wisdom that man needs…is to be obedient to his God and his Creator…everything else is foolishness…