This song is another praise hymn to God.  But, it tells us something more.  It tells us how all things should praise our God.  It talks of how all of God's creation sings His glory.  Just think about it.  The flowing water, pure and clear, makes music for the Lord to hear.  The rushing wind, the lights of evening, sings their praises.  The fire that's both warm and bright that givest man both warmth and light, sings praises.  These things are doing what they were made to do, and it gives our Creator and our King glory and praise.  What were we made to do?  We were made to glorify our Creator.  We were made to serve Him.  We do these things, and it brings praise upon our God.  So, just enjoy lifting up your voice to God with the worshipful words of this song, and really try to live a life of purposeful praise and honor to our God and King. 

All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! Refrain O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou rushing wind that art so strong Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! Refrain Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light. Refrain Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise Him! Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. Refrain And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! Refrain And thou most kind and gentle Death, Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. Refrain Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

   

This hymn is a great call to worship.  We are Christians and servants of God.  We are also worshipers of our King.  This is such a joyful praise song.  The word Alleluia means, "Praise the Lord."  So almost every other line screams Praise the Lord!  Sometimes its good to just sit back and sing alleluia.  It's nothing fancy, there's no deep theology, but we are praising our Lord and how worthy He is of praise!  The simplicity of this hymn is great.  Use this time to just lift a praise up to Christ our King.  It doesn't need to be fancy.  It doesn't need to be long.  But, it needs to be sincere.  So come, Christian, and join to sing. 

Come, Christians, join to sing Alleluia! Amen! Loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia! Amen! Let all, with heart and voice, Before His throne rejoice; Praise is His gracious choice. Alleluia! Amen! Come, lift your hearts on high, Alleluia! Amen! Let praises fill the sky; Alleluia! Amen! He is our Guide and Friend; To us He’ll condescend; His love shall never end. Alleluia! Amen! Praise yet our Christ again, Alleluia! Amen! Life shall not end the strain; Alleluia! Amen! On heaven’s blissful shore, His goodness we’ll adore, Singing forevermore, “Alleluia! Amen!”

You may have noticed that many of the hymns I have picked have to do with God's faithfulness.  From How Firm a Foundation to What E're My God Ordains Is Right to Day by Day and with Each Passing Moment and others.  Well, this one is about God's faithfulness as well.  Many times (including this week) I forget or don't pay attention to how faithful and loving God really is.  It's amazing considering that God shouldn't even take notice of us.  He is so great and so perfect, yet He takes care of us and delights in serving us.  He is so faithful and provides us with the strength and the faith that we need.  Check out verse five.  It says that we claim no strength of our own and no goodness of our own.  These things God provides for us.  He is our righteousness and He is our strength.  It's so funny how I worry about provision and about other things when it is God who provides.  God knows what's best for me and He actually has the power to give it, yet I for some reason I don't trust?  Would I rather depend on myself who has no strength, who doesn't always know what's best, and who wouldn't have the power to do what is best even if I did know.  The Lord will provide.  The Lord will be faithful.  So, look for these themes as you read this hymn and then pray to God and just ask Him to help you trust Him this week and throughout your life.  Oh, and one more thing...Sit back and enjoy.

1. Though troubles assail us and dangers affright, Though friends should all fail us and foes all unite, Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, The promise assures us, “The Lord will provide.” 2. The birds, without garner or storehouse, are fed; From them let us learn to trust God for our bread. His saints what is fitting shall ne’er be denied So long as ’tis written, “The Lord will provide.” 3. When Satan assails us to stop up our path, And courage all fails us, we triumph by faith. He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried, This heart cheering promise, “The Lord will provide.” 4. He tells us we’re weak, our hope is in vain, The good that we seek we never shall obtain, But when such suggestions, our graces have tried, This answers all questions, “The Lord will provide.” 5. No strength of our own and no goodness we claim; Yet, since we have known of the Savior’s great Name, In this our strong tower for safety we hide: The Lord is our power, “The Lord will provide.”6. When life sinks apace, and death is in view, The word of His grace shall comfort us through, Not fearing or doubting, with Christ on our side, We hope to die shouting, “The Lord will provide.”

Song of Solomon 1:3: "Your name is like perfume poured out."  That is Jesus' name to a sinner's ear.  Constantly I will pray that God will help me to see what a sinner I am and then see how great a Savior I have.  It is easy to lose track of how sinful we are, and sometimes we fear to focus and admit how much of a sinner we are.  And, if we didn't have Jesus, we should fear!  But, Jesus' name is sweet to the sinner's ear, for He saved us from it.  But, He does so much more.  This hymn does a very good job of showing us all that Christ meant and all that Christ means today.  We cannot truly appreciate Christ until we see our sin (something I need to do more is see my sinfulness and praise my Savior Jesus Christ for His work).  I don't give nearly enough praise and adoration to Christ.  I don't nearly see how amazing what He really did was.  Well, this hymn shows me some of the things Christ means to the sinner.  It is such a neat hymn, and the tune may almost make you cry.  I can't give you the tune here, but I can gives you the magnificent words.  So here they are.

1. How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his fear. 2. It makes the wounded spirit whole, And calms the troubled breast; ’Tis manna to the hungry soul, And to the weary, rest. 3. Dear Name, the Rock on which I build, My Shield and Hiding Place, My never failing treasury, filled With boundless stores of grace! 4. By Thee my prayers acceptance gain, Although with sin defiled; Satan accuses me in vain, And I am owned a child. 5. Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend, O Prophet, Priest and King, My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, Accept the praise I bring. 6. Weak is the effort of my heart, And cold my warmest thought; But when I see Thee as Thou art, I’ll praise Thee as I ought. 7. Till then I would Thy love proclaim With every fleeting breath, And may the music of Thy Name Refresh my soul in death!

This is my granddad's favorite hymn.  He always walks around the house whistling it.  Each verse speaks of something different.  The first verse speaks of Christ's blessing and mercy, and a plea of help to praise Him better.  The second verse speaks of Christ's help for us in our journey of life.  How He will protect us and how He rescued us when we were wandering.  The third verse speaks more of how we wander and a plea to Christ to help us.  It ends with a commitment of a life and heart to Christ.  Read it as a prayer, for it is speaking to the Fount of Every Blessing--Christ our Lord.  A little help with some of the words that are a little outdated or that you might not understand: The second verse begins with the phrase, "Here I raises mine Ebenezer, hither by Thine help I'm come."  What is an Ebenezer and what does that line mean?  An Ebenezer is a marker.  It means, "Stone of help."  Basically the line means that it is by Christ's grace that we have come as far as we have.  I raise my Ebenezer stating that I have come to this place only through the grace of Christ.  Also, you may not be familiar with the term fetter.  It means like a shackle or something that minds.  So the third verse is asking that God's grace bind us to Him.  Okay!  Enjoy this hymn!   

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love. 2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I'm come; and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood. 3. O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

The title really says it all.  God moves in a mysterious way, so don't try to put Him in a box.  So many times I try to understand what is really God's will, or what God is really doing.  I get all worked up trying to figure it, not realizing that God's going to do it the way He wants to, and I don't have to understand.  God doesn't have to speak to me in a certain way and He doesn't have to work on me in a certain way.  We fear what we can't understand, but it should give us great peace that we don't have to figure it out, because God has it all figured out and He can actually do something about it.  So we need to try to stop trying to understand God and understand how He does everything and start to worship and fear Him for His unfathomable greatness.  This also applies to our relationship with people.  We won't be able to understand why people do certain things, but God does and He will help them, so be at peace.  This Hymn is all about what I was talking about.  God moves in a mysterious way.  Man!  I want to go through every verse specifically and talk about it, but just take your time and read through these verses and see how you can apply them to your relationship with Him.  Have a good week! 

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill He treasures up His bright designs And works His sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err And scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.

My oldest brother suggested this hymn to me and I like it.  I love how this hymn writer recognizes how lost and helpless we are without Christ.  He realizes that he needs Christ's help, otherwise he's lost.  It's a petition to Christ to help him, and he has great faith that Christ will.  Far off he sees the goal, but he needs Christ to get him there.  The last verse is really cool, talking about joining the great throng to praise and magnify Him.  Pretty neat.  So, hopefully this hymn will help you see how much you need the work of God to help you and I hope you can fully rely on Him, knowing that He'll get you through.

Far off I see the goal—O Savior, guide me; I feel my strength is small—be Thou beside me; With vision ever clear, with love that conquers fear, And grace to persevere, O Lord, provide me. Whene’er Thy way seems strange, go Thou before me; And, lest my heart should change, O Lord, watch o’er me; But, should my faith prove frail, and I through blindness fail, O let Thy grace prevail, and still restore me. Should earthly pleasures wane, and joy forsake me; And lonely hours of pain at length o’ertake me, My hand in Thine hold fast till sorrow be o’erpast, And gentle death at last for Heav’n awake me. There, with the ransomed throng who praise forever The love that made them strong to serve forever, I, too, would seek Thy face, Thy finished work retrace, And magnify Thy grace, redeemed forever.

This hymn is all about singing praise to God.  This is something that we are given the opportunity to do every minute of every day.  But, what do we praise Him for?  This hymn talks about God's grace, Jesus' name, what Jesus' sacrifice does, and more.  The last verse is a call for us to sing His praise.  Sometimes it's hard to verbally praise God for the great things He has done.  Or to praise Him for who He is.  So, take this time to see some of the great things that God has done and some of the great things that Jesus' sacrifice does.  

O for a thousand tongues to sing My great redeemer's praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace. My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread thro' all the earth abroad, The honors of Thy name. Jesus the name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease. 'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life and health, and peace. He breaks the pow'r of canceled sin, He sets the pris'ner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me. Hear him ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb, Your loosened tongues employ; Ye blind behold your Savior come; And leap, ye lame, for joy.

This hymn is by Michael Card.  So it's a recent hymn but it sure is good, especially since Christmas was a couple of days ago.  It's all about Christ's birth and a call to the listener to follow Christ.  It talks about God being with us and if He is with us, who can stand against us?  It's such an amazing hymn.  I hope you enjoy

A sign shall be given A virgin will conceive A human baby bearing Undiminished deity The glory of the nations A light for all to see Hope for all who will embrace His warm reality Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel For all those who live in the shadow of death A glorious light has dawned For all those who stumble in the darkness Behold your light has come Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel So what will be your answer? Will you hear the call? Of Him who did not spare His son But gave him for us all On earth there is no power There is no depth or height That could ever separate us From the love of God in Christ Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel

Struggling to understand the beauty Christ's incarnation?  Well, you're not alone.  I find I just struggle to get amazed by God sometimes.  I mean, I know how amazing He is, but when I try to get amazed at some of the things He's done (like taking on human flesh and dwelling among us), I struggle.  Well, this hymn does a good job of putting Christ's incarnation into perspective. It's not a very well known hymn, which is sad because it gives some good images of what Jesus gave up when He came to earth.  So, read this hymn today, but also, read it Thursday as you ponder the incarnation of Jesus.

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor,
All for love’s sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst Thou surrender,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor,
All for love’s sake becamest poor.
 
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake becamest man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising,
Heaven-ward by Thine eternal plan.
Thou who are God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake becamest man.

Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship Thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what Thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship Thee.