Monday, May 30, 2016

The Song of the Released Prisoners

 

[Photo of a woman with hands lifted in praise]


“Let this be written for a future generation, that
a people not yet created may praise the Lord…”
—103:18

In an amazing act of God’s unfailing love, He has released us from the prison of sin that has bound us and kept us from experiencing the fullness of His mercy and grace. In freeing us, God has given us an overwhelming reason to worship Him and to praise Him with the fullness of our beings.

In Psalm 103:18-22, a Psalm of Lamentation, the writer brings the center portion of this Psalm to a resounding crescendo with these powerful words:

Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:

“The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”

So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord.

Dear ones, we are that “people not yet created.” This very day, God gives us the opportunity to break forth in praise to His precious and holy Name because of the goodness of God in the land of the living.

We are the released prisoners. God has set us free. We are the ones who benefit for His every good and perfect gift, especially the gift of full reconciliation to God through His one and only Son, Jesus. Therefore, we have much for which to praise God.

As we worship the Lord this day, let us resolve to fully give our attention to that effort. Let us determine to bless Him above all others. Let us praise so flow from our minds, hearts, and lives that all who cross our pathway may see that God is our strength and our shield.

Come, dear ones, let us worship God!

 

Copyright © 2016 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.