Lord's Day Devotion - Devotional Prayer - Shout for Joy

Do you hear the sound of praise?

I do as I read Psalm 98.  I can "hear" the jubilation in David's voice and heart as he says, 

"SHOUT for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song...make music to the LORD with the harp,...and the sound of singing...shout for joy before the LORD, the King."  [emphasis mine]  (Psalm 98:4-6)

Lord, I guess David had this happen to him before so he knows how it feels and how it must feel good to have people shout for joy at one's presence.  Oh Lord I think of how we gather together on a Lord's Day morning to remember Your Son Jesus in His death.  Do we actually shout for joy, is our singing actually so joyful?

  Ah, Lord, sometimes we are so somber, so bogged down with life we can't remember that feeling of joy; we forget that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Despite all the stresses of life and things that pin us down, help us to remember You, truly remember the joy of our salvation as we partake of the bread and cup of wine in remembrance of Jesus' death for us.  You have given us so much, much more despite like the sea's constant resoundings.

Sometimes your creation can be really wild, like at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada during and immediately after a storm and those waves haven't yet calmed so come CRASHING into the rocks and water goes geysering up and splashing all over the place and you can hear the water smack back down with force, slapping hard onto the rocks and it is quite euphoric and it really impacts the inner being and mesmerizes the person who can be standing there observing it all through their eyes and ears and maybe even feeling salty water-drops flung onto their face and onto their lips; the wind buffeting at them as they brace themselves against it.  

A person can get just a small, small feel of your power, that great impetus you have over your creation.   It makes me want to shout for joy when I think of it.  May this kind of joy just bubble up and smash out of us like the ocean's roaring and smashing, rivers clapping their hands and the mountains singing together for joy.  May each one of us on Lord's Day morning come together like that.  Shout for joy.  Sing together for joy like the mountains.  Rivers are clapping their hands, but Lord, may the people clap together according to rhythm so it's not plop, plop, plop....  Clap all in unison, the joy of the Lord being their strength, because we are in Your presence. 

You are the Judge of all the earth Who does right so we can rest in You because You will judge in righteousness and the people with equity.   There is no bias.  You have no bias.  What a blessed Judge You are to give us sterling justice.  You judge justly and aright so we can shout for joy in that  You are our King and Judge Who brought us salvation and hopefully allow You to reign in our hearts through Your Holy Spirit's convictions.  

You have worked salvation for all of us who have become Your royal priesthood and we give You praise and SHOUT with joy and thankfulness and gratefulness, "HALLELUJAH!"

Can you hear it?

                                                       ~ERC  January 2020~

Devotional Prayer based on Psalm 98

Shout to the Lord as presented by Hillsong singers