Psalm100.MakeAJoyfulNoise

Our reading today is from Psalm the 100th chapter. “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness, come into the Lord‘s presence with song. Know that the Lord is God, our maker, to whom we belong, we are God’s people, and the sheep of his pasture. Good indeed is the Lord. His steadfast love is everlasting, his faithfulness endures from age to age.” I remember as a small child, that we always heard this particular Psalm at Thanksgiving, as we were being reminded that we are to be thankful for all that God has and continues to provide. He has provided for us the earth; the rivers and streams, the land, the prairie and the fields. He provides us with plants and animals that share this world with us. I love to sit on my front porch and enjoy the breeze as it blows through the trees. I enjoy watching the birds and the rabbits which appear in the yard and the deer in the fields nearby. I hang humming bird and wild bird feeders to help feed the birds who live nearby. God has blessed us with all of this, however, there are places that are not as pretty and yet even in the more distressed places, God continues to provide and there is beauty. God is good. Just as the earth is his, we are his as well. There is beauty in people who love and care for one another. I was told once of an area that had been torn apart by war and yet on Sunday morning, you could hear voices raised in song as people walked to the place of worship. People, who had lost so much, and yet were filled with praise to God who gave them life, family, friends, faith. God is good. God is great, and God continues to provide for his people not just word, but he provides for his people. We praise him for the little things that God gives us each day. Make a joyful noise; praise the Lord.