Deliver

Psalm 66:1-7 (NRSV)

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.

Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.

All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.’

Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.

He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.

There we rejoiced in him,
who rules by his might for ever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let the rebellious not exalt themselves.

I remember what my worship professor had to say years ago, when I was in seminary:

"A congregation's joy in worship will be directly proportional to its sense of having been 'delivered by God.'"

Do you know what that means?

I was afraid of that.

Joyous worship really is connected to a deeply held sense that God is present and active in our lives.

The people of Israel could "make joyful noise," praise God and give him glory because they had a real, living memory of what he had brought them through.

The sea had parted. The feet of their ancestors (and vicariously, their own) had touched the bottom of a dry sea bed. God had delivered them, and God remains in the delivery business.

Whether we believe that, and whether we experience that deliverance in our own lives is directly proportional to how joyous our worship can be.

To be "delivered," is to be rescued...brought through...from death to life...from darkness to life...not by our own power, but completely because of God's love and strength.

If we think we take care of ourselves, our worship is going to be pretty stiff and stayed.

Look for the deliverance you have experienced in your own life --- and then open your heart to joy.

Prayer: Father God, may we know how awesome your deeds are throughout the earth. May we look and see what you have done in our own lives and be thankful.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:8-10