Psalm 95:1-7a (NRSV)
Read Psalm 95:1-7a on biblegateway.com
Verse 1O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Verse 2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Verse 3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Verse 4In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
Verse 5The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
Verse 6O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Verse 7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
Devotion
As Alzheimer’s disease claimed my mother’s being she began to forget the people most important to her. The more she forgot, the greater the distance between her identity and reality. Towards the end of her life she had forgotten who she was. This was a painful journey to watch.
I think Satan would love to give all of us a strong case of forgetfulness when it comes to our relationship with God so we could lose our ultimate identity and purpose as God’s people. In today’s Psalm there is an affirmation of who our Lord is, and because we know who our Lord is, we know who we are. Satan has lost the battle as we sing:
“For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture,
And the sheep of his hand.”
Prayer
Life-giving God, I give thanks to you each day as I look into the mirror and say, 'I am your baptized child, a member of your faithful people and a sheep of your hand.'