"Praise the Lord, O my soul;" (Psalm 103)
It's encouraging that even the great worshipper, King David, had to have stern words with his own soul to focus in worship. In any time when I want to focus spiritually I find that I need to put my soul in its place or I'll quickly be distracted, inundated with fresh thoughts and feelings that make the quietest place so noisy. This Psalm of David encourages me.
He begins by commanding his soul to conform to what he believes in his spirit. He praises God for all that He is doing for him - God forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies. It's clear from the text that David was glad to remember these things and to be renewed like the eagle. This is coming from a time when David needed to remember, needed to make his soul focus.
With body and soul now submitting to his spirit's agenda, David begins to consider the character of the Lord God he knows so well, so intimately. David thinks about God's righteousness, compassion, grace, faithfulness and love. David didn't simply learn these things from Sunday school. He had experienced these things in these times of intimacy, they'd been revealed to his spirit as he spent time with God even through the most difficult times.
Then it gets really interesting. As David has made his soul submit to the truth and as he tunes in to the character of God he begins to prophesy. David moves from expressing what he remembers and what he knows, in to sharing live what God is telling his spirit about the future. He sees the future of God's people being filled with His love and righteousness. David sees God's throne established and His dominion over all. David freely builds into a crescendo of praise.
It's as we offer to God our bodies and our minds that we can truly worship, and He can reveal His heart to us (from Romans 12:1-2).
It's encouraging that even the great worshipper, King David, had to have stern words with his own soul to focus in worship. In any time when I want to focus spiritually I find that I need to put my soul in its place or I'll quickly be distracted, inundated with fresh thoughts and feelings that make the quietest place so noisy. This Psalm of David encourages me.
He begins by commanding his soul to conform to what he believes in his spirit. He praises God for all that He is doing for him - God forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies. It's clear from the text that David was glad to remember these things and to be renewed like the eagle. This is coming from a time when David needed to remember, needed to make his soul focus.
With body and soul now submitting to his spirit's agenda, David begins to consider the character of the Lord God he knows so well, so intimately. David thinks about God's righteousness, compassion, grace, faithfulness and love. David didn't simply learn these things from Sunday school. He had experienced these things in these times of intimacy, they'd been revealed to his spirit as he spent time with God even through the most difficult times.
Then it gets really interesting. As David has made his soul submit to the truth and as he tunes in to the character of God he begins to prophesy. David moves from expressing what he remembers and what he knows, in to sharing live what God is telling his spirit about the future. He sees the future of God's people being filled with His love and righteousness. David sees God's throne established and His dominion over all. David freely builds into a crescendo of praise.
It's as we offer to God our bodies and our minds that we can truly worship, and He can reveal His heart to us (from Romans 12:1-2).
