Then Sings My Soul - Psalm 138

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder.

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

It’s the song the Lord put in my heart during some very dark and difficult hours recently. To sing it through tears was a poignant, deliberate sacrifice of worship offered simply because I am convinced of the goodness and love of the God who holds me.

I thought about the statement, "God is good all the time," and the conversation in my head went something like this:

  Q:  Is He really?

     A:  Yes, I know He is.

  Q:  How do you know?

     A:  His Word tells me… and I have been both a witness and recipient of His goodness and love over and over.
  Q:  Why would you trust Him through this?

     A:  Because He has been faithful in ALL His words and ways – throughout time and in my life.

And so, this became my prayer and my song…

Psalm 138

I will give You thanks with all my heart;I will sing praises to You before the gods.I will bow down toward Your holy templeAnd give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
On the day I called, You answered me;You made me bold with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,When they have heard the words of Your mouth.And they will sing of the ways of the Lord,For great is the glory of the Lord.For though the Lord is exalted,Yet He regards the lowly,But the haughty He knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Yes, I will give thanks and sing praise. Is it really a sacrifice to offer gratitude and worship even in suffering to the true God who loves me and gave Himself for me? Sometimes it feels that way, at least to begin with, but something changes in my heart as I continue to worship.

That’s because God loves to show His goodness and glory to His children. Ok, we can only see it in small parts, but He loves us and wants us to know Him even more deeply. That requires testing. How will we know Him if we never look for or ask Him to act?

So there on the floor, sobbing and singing, I confessed my lack of faith and my doubt that this could be turned for good, acknowledging His power and love, and I asked the Lord to act. He heard me and He answered me with strength. No, it wasn’t just that easy… joy didn’t flood my soul like a river… but the surety of God’s loving presence and confidence in the perfection of His ways did. I trusted that He would accomplish what concerned me, and He gave me rest. I may not totally understand His purpose, but we will know His glory through it - May His name be glorified!

Today, the Lord reminded me of another verse in that song –

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.

But on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

I think of the day Jesus died and how painful it must have been for those who loved Him to watch – witnessing His agony, waiting in the dark barely able to breathe themselves as they heard Him struggle, privy to His prayer, powerless to ease His suffering, unable to understand the goodness of God in those oh-so-long hours, weeping, begging God to act and not knowing that His sovereign work was already being accomplished, or of the miracle of His resurrection that was coming! Did God give a song? One that rose from their hearts in an extreme sacrifice of praise? What words and images of Jesus looped through their minds? From what words of Scripture did they draw comfort?

I will give You thanks with all my heart;

I will sing praises to You before the gods.

I will bow down toward Your holy temple

And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.

As you reflect on Psalm 138 this week, let your praise rise to Him. Sing of the goodness of God and cry out with a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Ask God to show you His ways and His glory so you may know Him and walk in grace by faith. If you are His child, you have already found favor in His sight. He is pleased to show you His goodness and proclaim His strong name to you. Meditate on who He is and bow before Him. Then go in the strength of the LORD and walk in faith and obedience.

And as you go, strengthen your sisters.

Be sure to watch this week’s sermon on 1 Peter 1:3-5, Christ’s Resurrection and Our Inheritance. Jesus is our Living Hope! Find it at: https://www.parksidebible.com/teachings/video

I am praying always with joy for you, dear sisters!