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

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…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 December 2019 Psalm 34:3.

Psalm 34:3.    ​O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
 

A good Sunday morning to all of you, my Scrip-Bit friends and family! Hope you are still revelling in the Christmas season that the incarnate birth of Christ brought us, and are eagerly looking forward to the New Year, when you will grow in faith and do even more sincere work in His name! (smile) And I pray that it will all culminate today in your visiting His house, His sanctuary, wherever two or three are gathered in His name, to fellowship with other believers, giving Him high praise and thanks for all that’s He’s done for us; for being such a wonderful and LOVING God to us undeserving children of men! 

And as always, we’ll begin the proceedings with song. But first, hear the story of how we came to pick it today nuh. It’s a song I heard on YouTube a few weeks ago and it just resonated with me everlasting, (smile) and I knew that we’d have to sing it one day. But Christmas was upon us, and it wasn’t in the Christmas spirit. But a couple days ago, while lying on my bed contemplating life and communing with the Lord, I asked Him what song He wanted us to sing this week, and in no time flat, the answer shot back at me…‘Psalm 34!’ And I went ‘Wow! Yes Lord. No problem there at all!’ 

Ah friends, you all know Bruh David’s famous psalm, where he narrowly escaped death (1 Sam.21) and penned the magnificent paean, song of praise to our great God. Now the songwriter, Shane Barnard reworked it into something he calls: ‘Psalm 34: O Taste and See that the Lord is good.’ And the version I saw was done by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, at least a hundred strong, if not more. And believe me, it was bad: the band, big and powerful, was bad; the choir ditto, and the two young black men singing lead were obviously bad too! (smile) 

I guess you can tell how much I liked it. And I’m sure the first time Bruh David heard that rendition he was pleased as punch, and was dancing in the aisles, like when he brought home the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and his wife Michal abhorred his low class behaviour. (2 Sam. 6:16) Reminds me of some of the times the duchess abhorred mine. (smile) But like Bruh David told Michal when she accosted him; He was dancing before the Lord, and would continue to do so.’ (2 Sam. 6:20-23) And so was I. (smile) 

Anyhow friends, enough talk, let’s get to the music…and please help me to do it justice…in a mid tempo, harmonious, soulful, soaring song of praise to our great God. As Bruh David proclaimed: ‘O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ Let’s do that now as one, strong voice: ‘I sought the Lord And He answered me And delivered me From every fear. Those who look on Him Are radiant They’ll never be ashamed They’ll never be ashamed. This poor man cried And the Lord heard me And saved me from My enemies. 

The Son of God Surrounds His saints He will deliver them He will deliver them. Magnify the Lord with me Come exalt His name together Glorify the Lord with me Come exalt His name forever. Oh taste and see That the Lord is good Oh blessed is he Who hides in Him. Oh fear the Lord Oh all you saints He’ll give you everything He’ll give you everything. (Magnify the Lord with me Come exalt His name together Glorify the Lord with me Come exalt His name forever. Repeat) 

(Let us bless the Lord Every day and night Never ending praise May our incense rise. Repeat 4 times) Magnify the Lord with me Come exalt His name together Glorify the Lord with me Come exalt His name forever. {Repeat} Oh taste and see That the Lord is good. He’ll give you everything He’ll give you everything. Oh taste and see That the Lord is good. He’ll give you everything He’ll give you everything. …He’ll give you everything…’ 

And He most definitely will my people if you magnify and exalt His holy name! Now ours was also a wonderful rendition! And I’m sure Bruh David was dancing in the aisles to it too. Oh friends, there’s nothing as uplifting as exalting and praising our great God in song. And I think He likes it too, judging from the many great worship songs in His Word. And how can we not magnify and exalt the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when Bruh David, wrote such encouraging words, and from personal experience to boot. 

Listen to these words: ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened (radiant): and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear (reverence) him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear (reverence) the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing.’ (Ps. 34:3-10) 

Yes friends, immortal and wise words to live by! And if you doubt them, just look at Bruh David’s life nuh: though he had some rough times and made mistakes, just like us, he never lacked for God’s mercy or grace in his life, because He knew on which side his bread was buttered. That’s why I want to remind us this morning that likewise, our bread is buttered on God’s side, not on the foolish Satan’s. So please let’s be wise and follow Bruh David’s words and reverence the Lord God Almighty with all our hearts, souls, bodies and minds nuh, so that we can enjoy His mercy, grace and everlasting favour. Much LOVE!

…trust in the Lord…with all thine heart…and lean not unto thine own understanding… (Prov.3:5) 

P.S. Please check out the song on You Tube and you’ll understand why it touched me so mightily. (smile) I can’t describe it adequately with words. Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 October 2016 Psalm 105:1.

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

HAPPY  THANKSGIVING  CANADA!

Oh friends, oh friends, it’s Thanksgiving morn in beautiful Canada! Wow!

And the words of the old song ‘Giving Thanks’ by Beres Hammond comes to mind: ‘Right here now, I’m taking it easy. Check my steps, I’m not in a hurry.

Soon I’ll have the things that I needed so bad. Morning sun rising behind me, Stars at nights come out to remind me, To give thanks for all of the things that I have. 

All is well, I’ve got my health and in such good shape. Pockets broken, I’ve got nothing, Waiting for that break. So I’m giving thanks, for all I’ve got. I’m giving thanks, whether or not. I’m giving thanks for the life in me. I’m giving thanks now…’ 

Yeh mih people, the ole fella is giving thanks for all I’ve got – and believe me, I’ve got a lot. But whether or not you’ve got a lot, you can still be thankful, even if it’s just for the breath of life that’s still flowing through your body. For remember that while there is life there is always hope in God’s great universe! 

Yes my fellow believers, and hope builds faith, and faith keeps us strong and steadfast in Jesus. So I do hope that we all, wherever we are in this great country of Canada, as well as all round the world, are in a state of thanksgiving this Monday morning. 

The fact is that we should be in a state of perpetual thanksgiving regardless of our circumstances, because there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.

I know that many of us are shaking it somewhat rough today because we have to get up and go to work, but that is something to be oh so thankful and grateful for. 

Yuh know how many millions of people are out of work and would be everlastingly grateful to have a job, any job?  But yet we still bitch and complain because we have to get up and go out and face the music on a Monday. Steups! 

Look friends, let’s cut out the nonsense eh and get with the programme, if you say you’re a believer in Jesus Christ! Too many supposed Christians today are full of the talk but none of the walk. 

Anyway, enough of the talk, (smile) let’s begin the walk by declaring our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great gusto and excitement. Let’s prove to Jesus, our choirmaster, that we are truly His. So, with loud, proud and harmonious voices, let’s sing! 

‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. 

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days.

It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. 

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour.

We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. 

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ 

Oh my people, that wasn’t bad at all nuh! Jesus was pleased as punch! (smile) Even though, as is usually the case, the ones who aren’t going to work today, were the loudest. But overall, the harmony and melody were excellent. And most important of all, it put a smile on Jesus’ face. 

Now let’s go out and continue the work He has called us to do, in good spirits and with pure motives, remembering as our Bit declares: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.’  

Yes my brethren, to spread the word of God all over the world and make known His mighty deeds throughout the ages is our bounden duty! So let’s get serious and do what we know we ought to do nuh. 

Oh there are always times when things will come against us and cause us to be concerned, but there is never any need for fear, because Jesus told us oodles of times, not to fear, since He has already conquered the world.

And I know it’s not always easy, but listen to the psalmist as he encourages us in the things we can, and ought to do to uplift ourselves in Jesus. 

‘Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; talk ye of all 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.105:2-7) 

Yuh see friends, as children of the Most High God, how many things we have to give thanks for, and the numerous ways we can do so! 

So please, please, let’s get truly serious about our walk with Jesus and come out fighting with and for Him this Monday morning nuh, for that is indeed wisdom at it’s highest. Much LOVE!

…giving thanks should be an all day…every day occurrence…