"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy" - Psalm 33:1-3 (NIV).
Music is one of the blessings of the amazing life in Christ. Psalm 95:1 says, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."
The Bible is full of passages that say we should praise the Lord with music and song. The Psalms in particular are full of such passages. Psalm 92:1, for example, says "It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to your name, O Most High" and Psalm 32:11 says "Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart."
There are a number of reasons why music is central to our faith. First, it opens gates by ushering us into the presence of the Lord."Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors, and the great king will come in. Who is this great king? He is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, victorious in battle" (Psalm 24:7-9). When troubled music can also soothe our souls."But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble" (Psalm 59:16).
Music helps us celebrate with song and dance when victorious. When the ark of God was returned to Jerusalem, "And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns" (2 Sam 6: 14).
Any of us the Lord has blessed us with the gift of music. One need not be a Lucian Pavoroti, the great Italian tenor, to sing music pleasing to the Lord. It is our hearts that matter above all. For, "He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD" (Psalm 40:3).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I rise with a new song in my heart, to give you praise, for you are awesome and a good Lord indeed!
Related upcoming events
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24/04/2024 - 25/04/2024 All day“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed” (Psalm 20:4)
Premier Joseph and King David have a particular common characteristics: two individuals who were blessed with success, in their work. When Joseph was taken into the household of Potiphar, “The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered...When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant” ( Gen 39:2-4).
Even when he was imprisoned later, on false accusations, “The LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there” (vv 21-22). Later in his life he is made second in command of Egypt by Pharaoh. “You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you” (Genesis 41:40).
For David, after he disposed off Goliath, “Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army” (1 Samuel 18:5). His success on the battle field would soon cause trouble for him when the troops started singing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (vv 7).
In spite of Saul’s anger at the comparison and even trying to kill him, for David “in everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns” (vv 14-16). Eventually, the throne would pass on to David.
Success in life is one of the blessings the Lord has marked out for believers. These individuals were successful because the Lord was with them. The only one who does not wish to see success of us, is the enemy Satan, who comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). May we pray that our lives are characterized with the anointing of success, because the Lord is with us!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray that I bask in your success, in all that I do, because as was with your servants Joseph, David, Daniel and others, you are with me, and this I pray in Jesus’ name.
