by Joshua Bland
"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord. How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse in falsehood." (Psalm 40:1-4)
The Psalms offer us a glance into many facets of Hebrew life in antiquity. We are able to see glimpses of events in the lives of individuals and the community through their eyes; beyond that, we can begin to see how they viewed those events in light of God's work in the world. We also get glimpses into their theology.
This particular Psalm has always been one of my personal favorites. "He brought me up out of the pit of destruction... and He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord." When God works in our lives, He does so for a reason. Despite what my selfish nature would like to think, that reason is not just for me alone. God's works in our lives are not to be hoarded as something we can possess for ourselves, but instead are meant to be proclaimed and shared. The difference He makes in us should lead us to make a difference in the lives of others.
Mighty Father, reign in me
You who gave the breath of life
From the first You brought to be
a creation free of strife
When we turned and ran away
You pursued us for Your own
Longing just to bring us home
Mighty Father, reign in me
Dearest Jesus, reign in me
Take me back to Calvary
Where You died and set us free
Gave us fresh new life in Thee
As we all in sin were bound
and could not escape its chains
In Thy love, redemption's found
Dearest Jesus, reign in me
Holy Spirit, reign in me
for the glory of Your name
Take my life and let it be
one that ever brings You praise
Though I fail these countless times
Your great love remains the same
Guiding Light, my Hope always,
Holy Spirit, reign in me
Bibliography
New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.
Reign in Me by Joshua Bland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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