Thursday, December 15: Scripture – Psalm 145: 8-13
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds.
This passage in Psalms is attributed to David as his way of teaching us about the many wonderful attributes of our God. He reminds us that we have an obligation to worship God but also to teach others about the Glory of our Lord. The recipients of grace should be the messengers to all mankind. In writing these songs David alludes to a verse in Exodus (34:6) that is a self-description of God to Moses; (“Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth”) David updated this ancient scripture to expand God’s Grace to include all mankind not just his chosen people. The psalmist praises our God’s glory, goodness, graciousness, and righteousness. We can equate David’s songs to auditory teaching tools of the present. As we listen to music and words of the masters, studying their composition, style, use of instruments and meaning we gain an appreciation for the beauty of music. David sings the glory of our God throughout the passage and clearly gives us hope that God’s everlasting Kingdom will live through us for generations to come.
Prayer: Loving Father, As we enjoy the splendor of your world, let us follow your example by sharing your Glory with others and assuring them of your everlasting Kingdom.
Brenda Stewart