Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-034 Sunday 17 Feb 2002

Reading: PSALM 100 – Jubilate, jubilate

(From ‘Encounter with God’ Bible Reading Notes)

Ask God to give you a spirit of exuberant thankfulness as you face a new Sunday, the Lord’s day.

Christians have been singing this psalm in a variety of forms for centuries, from chanted canticles to anthems, from metrical hymns in a number of different translations to foot-tapping worship songs. That in itself says something about the diverse moods of expressing our thankfulness to God which we may adopt, now sober and dignified, now caught up in excitement and enthusiasm. But underlying all praise is ‘knowing’ (important word) that the Lord is God (v 3). Uncertainty is the enemy of true praise; it allows little more than wishful thinking. The God who made us, who shepherds us and to whom we belong, is the only One who can give us the deep inner assurance that, in the words of the hymn, ‘I am his and he is mine for ever and for ever’.(1)

As far as the psalmist is concerned, worship means movement, getting up out of your seat and going to a different building with a company of fellow-worshippers. That does not of course debar the housebound but it should rebuke the chair-bound! Worship also implies service (v 2); working for the glory of God during the week is the natural accompaniment of worshipping God on Sunday.

So whether we praise God for who he is or thank him for what he has done, we should rightly find ourselves wondering at the ‘foreverness’ of his love and the continuing nature of his faithfulness (v 5). That suggests that our children and grandchildren are equally the objects of his love and fatherly concern ‘through all generations’. We can safely entrust them to his care long after we ourselves have moved on.

Count your blessings as you look back on the past week. Then look forward to all that lies ahead for you and your offspring, and trust God for them as well.

(1) From l’ve found a friend (JG Small, 1817-88).

– Bishop John B Taylor

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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