Great Plains Daily Devotional for 11/10/2022: Psalm 98

Psalm 98 

O sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
    have gotten him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
    he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who live in it.
Let the floods clap their hands;
    let the hills sing together for joy
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
    to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity.

When I was in high school, my mom would take me with her each year to the Winger Jones choral reading sessions in Kansas City. Over the weekend we, along with other choir directors and members, would sight read the seasons’ selections for sacred and Christmas music highlighted that year.

My mom’s choir group was small but mighty, and choral pieces were presented for all sizes of church choirs. She couldn’t use a lot of pieces as they were written for choirs much larger than ours, but she usually found a few pieces that would work for the voices she had.

I loved going to the reading sessions. I learned a lot about sight reading that served me well in college choirs. It was also an opportunity to hear so many talented voices fill an auditorium praising God.

Of course, I loved the Christmas anthems but there was usually at least one great anthem for Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) that stood out. I loved sitting with my mom as she wrote her star rating on the cover of each piece of sheet music knowing later at home we would go back over her top pieces at the piano.

I loved those days of singing new songs to the Lord of praise and thanksgiving. It challenged me as a singer and taught me most of the scripture that I know today. Making a joyful noise and singing praises to the Lord is a cherished memory.

Today I can sing favorite hymns full of memories and discover new praise songs that not only speak to my heart but through the scriptures in new and powerful ways. How marvelous that centuries after this Psalm was written we are still singing our praises to God just as the writer did in their day. Originally published Nov. 10, 2019
The photo above features Mary Brooks, Lisa's mother, taken at UMY Institute

Prayer for Reflection

Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
Psalm 98
Job 19:23-27a
Psalm 17:1-9
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38