Thoughts for the Day

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

There are some things in life that we cannot do unless we switch off our brains to other things and just concentrate on what we're doing. In my case, I would say that applies to any kind of Maths. I can distinctly remember doing my 'Marie House Test' (the name for the 11 plus exam, then) and only answering the English language questions. Another subject that requires such concentration is choral singing. Our small group of church singers finds that if we're tired when we started practising, at the end we can feel rejuvenated; if worried, our concerns have been forgotten for a while; if fed up at the start, we can feel joyous an hour later. This probably happens in many group activities, and particular with many music groups, but an hour of singing Christian lyrics of praise and thanksgiving really helps to lift one's mood.

Psalm 148 starts by calling the heavens and all the hosts of heaven, notably God's angels, to praise their Creator, along with the sun, moon and stars. Whether we believe that creation happened in a moment of time as in the Book of Genesis, or that God was the great Creator who initiated the whole design and continues to care for his world, doesn't matter. The Psalmist calls all creatures that live on earth, as well as the mountains, seas, and the weather to praise God.

The writer ends with with a clarion call to the people of the earth. Whether it's a king or a small child, all are called to praise the Lord - in other words to give glory and honour to Him in worship. Perhaps today we can try counting our blessings, even if this day is one of bleak despair for us. Then may we convert those blessings into praise of God for his involvement in these blessings.

Lord God,
I thank You for Your countless blessings
to me and to all life on earth:
from the breath in my lungs
to the beauty of creation,
from the food on my table
to the glory of a sunset,
from the innocence of a baby's gurgle
to the ability to be creative.
every good thing comes from You.
With a grateful heart,
I sing praises to You
and rejoice in Your steadfast love.
Amen.