Rejoice, Praise & Thankfulness
That's what we came here for (Darlene Zschech and Russell Fragar)
We come into Your presence with singing
We come into Your presence with praise,
Enter Your gates with thankful hearts,
We are going to celebrate.
All of Heaven's waiting,
Power is on its way
So we shout Hallelujah,
Lifting to You a mighty roar of praise.
You deserve the highest praise
That we can give and more;
Lord, we give you our praise:
That's what we came here for.
Everything within me reaches out to You,
Your power, majesty, grace and mercy too.
There'll be singing and dancing,
Hearts and voices raised;
You have set your people free,
Now the house is filled with praise.
A Thousand Hallelujahs (Scott Ligertwood, Phil Wickham, Brooke Ligertwood)
Who else would rocks cry out to worship?
Whose glory taught the stars to shine?
Perhaps creation longs to have the words to sing,
But this joy is mine.
With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify Your name;
You alone deserve the glory, the honour and the praise.
Lord Jesus, this song is forever Yours;
A thousand hallelujahs, a thousand more.
Who else would die for our redemption?
Whose resurrection means I'll rise?
There isn't time enough to sing of all You've done,
But I have eternity to try.
Praise to the Lord, to the Lamb
To the King of Heaven;
Praise for He rose, now He reigns:
We will sing forever.
Welcome to the last day in our current season of prayer and fasting! Hasn't the Lord been good to us! Are our hearts ready to erupt in praise, worship and adoration as we rejoice and give thanks to the only One who is worthy of all honour and glory?
Our main theme for the past ten days has been 'make room'. We've decluttered and sanctified ourselves, ploughed up our fallow ground, asked God to take us from pain to prosperity, upsized ourselves, broken down the walls of our religion, given God first place, dug up some old wells, made room for others, and recognised that God continues to make room for us both now and for all eternity.
Our headline scripture was taken from the first few verses of Isaiah 54:
Enlarge the place of your tent,
Stretch forth the curtain of your habitation;
Fear not. Spare not.
Lengthen your cords. Strengthen your stakes.
Enlarge the place of your tent.
Stretch forth the curtain of your habitation.
Fear not. Go forth.
Sing oh barren one sing; His kingdom here.
Some of us have experienced the joy of seeing barren areas of our lives being transformed into fruitfulness. We recall how Hannah responded when she gave birth to Samuel after having been barren for many years. She burst out into song (1 Samuel 2:1-10):
The Lord has filled my heart with joy;
I feel very strong in the Lord
I can laugh at my enemies;
I am glad because You have helped me!
2There is no one holy like the Lord.
There is no God but You;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 Don't continue bragging,
don't speak proud words.
The Lord is a God who knows everything,
and He judges what people do.
4 The bows of·warriors·break,
but weak people become strong.
5 Those who once had plenty of food now must work for food,
but people who were hungry are hungry no more.
The woman who could not have children now has seven,
but the woman who had many children now is sad.
6 The Lord sends death,
and He brings to life.
He sends people to the grave,
and He raises them to life again.
7 The Lord makes some people poor,
and others He makes rich.
He makes some people humble,
and others He makes great.
8 The Lord raises the poor up from the dust,
and He lifts the needy from the ashes.
He lets the poor sit with princes
and receive a throne of honour.
The ·foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,
and the Lord set the world upon them.
9 He protects those who are loyal to Him,
but evil people will be silenced in darkness.
Power is not the key to success.
10 The Lord destroys His enemies;
He will thunder from heaven against them.
The Lord will judge all the earth.
He will give power to His king
and make His appointed king strong.
Hannah's exclamation is similar to Psalm 113, and to Mary's song in Luke 1:46-55. It can also be compared with Miriam's song in Exodus 15:21, the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18, Deborah's song in Judges 5:2-31, and David's song in 2 Samuel 22:2-51. Our heartfelt response to God's goodness is to burst forth into song. Are we ready to sing praises to God (Psalm 47:6), to make His praise glorious (Psalm 66:2), to ascribe greatness to Him (Deuteronomy 32:3), to make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 98:4)?
Prayer
Lord God, we give You thanks and praise for all that You have done and continue to do in our lives. We rejoice in Your goodness and faithfulness. We love how You are working in and through Your church and that You have greater things planned for us than we can possibly imagine. Thank You that You also have great things in store for our city and nation. We give You all the honour and glory. Amen!
