sing

Opening Prayer: O Lord, as we spend time with you and your Word this day, let us hear the words of your Ancient Song; and let us listen closely for the Song of God that rises in our hearts.  In Christ.  Amen.

Scripture: Psalm 98:1-9

Journal: What song have you been singing to the Lord these days?  What kind of song is it?  What is the default song of your soul?  What new song is God asking you to sing?

Reflection: In the darkness something was happening at last.  A voice had begun to sing.  It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming.  Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once.  Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself.  There were no words.  There was hardly even a tune.  But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard.  It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.  The horse seemed to like it too; he gave the sort of whinny a horse would give if, after years of being a cab-horse, it found itself back in the old field where it had played as a foal, and saw someone whom it remembered and loved coming across the field to bring it a lump of sugar.

     “Gawd!” said Cabby.  “Ain’t it lovely?”

     Then two wonders happened at the same moment.  One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count.  They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale: cold, tingling, silvery voices.  The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars.  They didn’t come out gently one by one, as they do on a summer evening.  One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out—single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world.  There were no clouds.  The new stars and new voices began at exactly the same time.  If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the stars themselves who were singing, and that it was the First Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing.

     “Glory be!” said Cabby.  “I’d ha’ been a better man all my life if I’d known there were things like this.” (The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis)

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Sing to God a brand-new song.  He’s made a world of wonders!  He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right.  God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do.  He remembered to love us, a bonus to his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.  The whole earth comes to attention.  Look—God’s work of salvation!  Shout your praises to God, everybody!  Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!  Round up an orchestra to play for God, add on a hundred-voice choir.  Feature trumpets and big trombones, fill the air with praises to King God.  Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with everything living on earth joining in.  Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”  And mountains harmonize the finale—a tribute to God when he comes, when he comes to set the earth right.  He’ll straighten out the whole world, He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it. (Psalm 98, The Message)