Psalm 113 – Waking to Praise

Pastor encourages us to memorize hymns and worship songs, desiring us to have avenues of worthy praise available at all times from the excellent theology and lovely melodies of so many Christian songs.

This morning as my consciousness was floating up to meet the day, I woke as I often do with a song in my head. The phrase I first heard was “… ponder anew what the Almighty can do.” It was from one of the hymns we sang last Sunday and was short term stuck in my head. A welcome byproduct of worship team practice.

We’ve all had the experience of getting a tune stuck in our head and wishing there was something – anything – we could do to get it out. Whether it’s a rousing rendition of “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” sung loudly by a bunch of teenagers on a trip (do they do that anymore?) or your children in the car singing a kid song like “Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro …..” (I know for certain this is still done). But there’s nothing like waking to praise. Especially on a cool, quiet spring morning, daylight still on its way, and in the lightly chilled almost black morning you lie in your bed with these beautiful words ringing through your mind:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation
Oh my soul praise Him for He is your health and salvation! (from v. 1)
Ponder anew, what the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriends you. (from v. 2)

Words of strength and hope, words of truth strung together and set to an ancient folk tune. Words like ‘ponder’ and ‘anew’. When was the last time you pondered anew what Almighty God can do? Give it a try, I’ll talk to you on the other side of pondering.