The gift of music
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The gift of music |
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Scripture: Psalm 40:1-11 Thank you, God, for music. On the dullest day it lifts my spirits and invites me to share its melodies, its harmonies and its rhythms. Thank you for remembered songs, for soft and soothing music, for rousing marches and dances and for the rolling thunder of great symphonies. But especially I thank you for the music of the church. As long as I can remember I have joined in the singing at church. My memory is stored with all kinds of hymns which I know by heart. By now some are linked with my personal memories. I'm glad my faith can be expressed in song. At times the faith can be mysterious and complicated and even the Bible is sometimes hard to understand. But hymns are different - they seem to match my every need and mood. In church I can, without embarrassment, sing heartily about your love for me, can pour out my longings to live a better life, can ask for strength and forgiveness. I can feel at one with the saints of today and with those of long ago who wrote and sang these same hymns. And thank you, Lord, for the new hymns we sing, fresh and lively and belonging to today's world. When I find it hard to pray at home my hymn book provides the devotional manual I need, reminding me of the faith I live by and reassuring me that I am part of the universal church. Where else could I join my friends and "all the company of heaven" in calling on your name? You have put a new song in my mouth. Never let it be silenced so long as I have breath. Amen. © Selwyn Dawson |
