Psalm 66

(Worship leader: A psalm to be sung with gusto!)

Make a righteous ruckus for God!
All earth, join in!
Sing, “Glory! Glory!”
Because he is in fact glorious.
Sing, “I’m in awe! I’m in wonder!
Your power makes me praise;
You power makes foes cringe.
All creation kneels in worship.
All people praise you,
All people praise your name.”

(Pause. Think back.)

A tour of history
Tells the story of God’s love for humanity.
He made a highway through the sea
So his people could walk between the waves.
(Can I get an Amen?)
He watches over the nations,
Ruling by his power.
So, watch out for the Watcher,
You people who reject his rule.

(Gather yourself.)

Come on now, everyone!
Let’s praise our God.
Let’s raise the roof with hallelujahs!
We’re still alive,
We’re still on our feet
Because of him.
You put us through fire, God,
And it refined us like silver.
You let those people enslave us,
To force hard labor on us,
To treat us like mules.
It was sheer hell.
But then you brought us out
And gave us the best life ever.

So, I’m heading to church,
Offering in hand,
Ready to give to the one
Who has given so much to me.
I’m making good
On the things I promised you
When all was going bad.
I’ve got a long list of the gifts
I plan on giving you.

(Stop. Reflect on what this all means.)

Everyone who takes God seriously,
I want you to hear this,
I want you to get in on
What God has done for me.
When I cried out to him,
It arose from a life shaped by praise.
If I’d loved my sins more than God,
It would have drowned out my prayers,
Making them unintelligible,
Nonsense.
But God heard me,
Understood me,
Didn’t reject my prayer,
Didn’t hold back his love for me.
He is worthy of bit of the praise we offer him.