“And the Levites; Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” Nehemiah 9:5-6
This group of boys and girls were captured on film cleaning their dishes after lunch at the Lutheran school in Torbeck. At the end of the rope that the girl is holding is something precious that we take for granted throughout every day; a bucket of water. They are blessed to have a shallow well at their school so the cooks don’t have to carry a bucket of water from a stream several miles away. When these children receive their food at lunch time they praise the Lord and give thanks His providence; for the food, water, school and Trinity Hope donors. We should probably take note from the Levites and how they began their prayer by praising the Lord and then stop for a few minutes and give thanks for all the abundance that surrounds us daily. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Praise to the Lord, the Almighty’ that were written by Joachim Neander in 1679.
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise Him, for He is Thy Health and Salvation! Join the full throng: wake, harp and psalter and song; sound forth in glad adoration! Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth, Who, as on wings of an eagle, uplifteth, sustaineth. Hast thou not seen how thy desires all have been granted in what He ordaineth? Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee; health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee. What need or grief ever hath failed of relief? Wings of His mercy did shade thee. Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee, Who from the heavens the streams of His mercy doth send thee. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, Who with His love doth befriend thee. Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore Him! All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him! Let the Amen sound from His people again; gladly for aye we adore Him.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay