Thursday, January 11, 2007

Be Still, Verses 4 & 5

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Psalm 104:33

In the final two stanzas of Be Still, we are reminded that our earthly trials are temporary and as a result, we are to praise Him! I know I look forward to the day when disappointment, grief and fear are gone and sorrow is forgotten. The hour IS hastening on – each hour we live, in fact, brings us closer to meeting our Lord and Maker. And so our response? Praise Him, Praise Him, and acknowledge Him in all your words and ways. The writer in the last verse seems to be saying that when we praise Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will shine more brightly through the clouds of our life. I know this is true for me: praising God helps me see Him even in the midst of trials and tribulations.

O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise. Psalm 51:15

When I am focused on God, His attributes and His power, I am not focused on my situation, disappointment or grief. I see Him shining most clearly when I am praising Him. I need to consistently work at having an attitude of praise and thanksgiving towards my Heavenly Father, believing while I am here on Earth that His way will be accomplished in my life, and that He will shine!

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
Hebrews 13:15

Verse 4:
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Verse 5:
Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahhh, so we both wrote about praise today! :) Cool! Keep up the good work!

Cyndi said...

I found you by hitting "random" on my CWO blogring link on my blog. I LOVE this hymn. What a great series of posts!

God bless!