"Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
and the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
the excellence of Jacob whom He loves.
God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the people have gathered together,
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth
belong to God;
He is greatly exalted."
Psalm 47
When I first read this Psalm yesterday morning my first reaction was to
CLAP MY HANDS!
And then I wanted to
SHOUT TO GOD WITH THE VOICE OF TRIUMPH!
Why? Because
"THE LORD MOST HIGH IS AWESOME; HE IS A GREAT KING OVER ALL THE EARTH!"
And that was a good enough reason for me! Let me ask you, do you ever get so excited over the way God works, and the marvelous things that He does, and the beauty of His Holiness...the glory of His power...the awesomeness of His majesty...the power of His love...and the mystery of His grace...
There are not enough words to describe Him, not enough ways to express this...I just have to
"CLAP (MY) YOUR HANDS!
SHOUT TO GOD WITH THE VOICE OF TRIUMPH!
SING PRAISES TO GOD, SING PRAISES!
SING PRAISES TO OUR KING, SING PRAISES!
FOR GOD IS THE KING OF ALL THE EARTH;
SING PRAISES WITH UNDERSTANDING!"
If you have never felt this way about our marvelous and awesome God, just start counting your blessings. Look around you at the magnificence of all creation...look into the heavens and try to count the stars and try to understand that God not only "counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name..." (Psalm 147:4)... and this God of the universe, Who created and named every single star
in every single galaxy...also knows my name. He knows me inside and out...He knew me before I ever took my first breath...
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| (Image Credit: Photos.com) |
"For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb....
My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret,
and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance,
being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them!"
Psalm 139: 13, 15-16
"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works
to the children of men!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
and praise Him in the company of elders."
Psalm 107:31-32
Wow! All I can say is, "Glory!" Sing along with me this Doxology of Praise:
"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen."
NEED I SAY MORE?
Oh, and by the way, if you are ever told that you should not clap your hands in praise to God, you may need to find another place to worship...Just saying...
This is simply lovely! And I love the last little admonition! Ha! I will keep that in mind while church shopping. :)
ReplyDeleteYes! You should surely check and be sure you are permitted to clap your hands and shout to God with the voice of triumph! I am not a "holy roller" kind of person, but sometimes I just cannot contain my joy and praise to our awesome God and I have to just break out and clap for joy and give a little shout of praise! Glory to God in the Highest! :)
DeleteYou hit another one out of the ballpark!
ReplyDeleteThanks you, cuz!
John
Oh thank YOU cuz John, for your words of encouragement! I like that idea! Praise God! :)
Delete"Praise God from whom all blessings flow",, right here with you Pamela!
ReplyDeleteAmen! Sometimes we don't even need a "reason"...we just need to stop what we are doing and give Glory to God for ALL of His awesome works!!! Praise God!
DeleteHi Pam! You are on fire my friend! How can I not be changed by your joyous post?
ReplyDeletei do think counting my blessings is a powerful tool to change my heart from feeling sad to gratitude. I do want to 'clap my hands'! It reminds me of the song that goes "Clap your hands...sing Glory, Glory!" I think that must be the song the angels sing.
Thank you for bringing me joy on a snowy Monday afternoon :)
Ceil
So glad that God could send His Joy to you today through this presentation of HIS Word! That's what it is all about...sharing God's Word with each other and lifting one another up as we recognize His power and majesty! Oh! Clap your hands, all ye people!!! Thank you for being a part of this "praise service"!
DeleteOh yes, my friend, I feel that way often! That Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms because of how it encourages me to ponder his majesty! Years ago I learned a little chorus with the words of the first part of the Psalm...and I sing it often! :) Thanks so much for sharing, Pam.
ReplyDelete"Clap your hands, all ye people! Shout unto God with a voice of triumph! Clay your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with a voice of praise! Hosanna! Hosanna! Shout unto God with a voice of triumph! Praise Him! Praise Him! Shout unto God with a voice of praise!" ...Is that the same song you sing? I should have added that to the post above...so glad you were encouraged to praise Him today!!!
Delete