A song of praise

This week in the Psalms David reminded me-

I waited patiently for the Lord;
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
Out of the miry bog,
And set my feet upon a rock,
Making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
A song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
And put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3

I was leaning towards that pit, that dark and boggy place. Left to myself, I would most certainly slide. No one really plans to go there; I don’t. But stories of brokenness and the reality of sin, they wear and they tear, and we can be so very weak.

But the Lord, He does incline Himself to me, and He shows me encouragement, through His words and through His people. He drew me up and set my feet upon the rock of truth this week.

I received a note, just two words- praying friend, and I knew that she was. Two days later came two phone calls from two far away friends, who just by remembering and taking that moment to call, not even knowing how timely it was, cheered me. Unexpected encouragements arrived, including notes from afar and a request to be added to our prayer list. “I love getting missionary family’s updates and will be praying for you all,” she wrote.

In preparation for Bible study on Wednesday, the Lord turned my face back to grace- and the reminder that it is not me, it is not my work that will fix anything. He turned my face back to the cross, and I read- vivimos al pie de la cruz toda la vida. (We live at the foot of the cross all our life.) Dwelling there, He provides the Holy Spirit- a Helper, a Comforter.

Finally, as if to cement those truths in place, I received a devotion on the old hymn, Jesus, Lover of My Soul, and for certain, there truth is found once more. I celebrate along with the fourth verse:
Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within;
thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of thee;
spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity.

So on this Sabbath eve, I offer a song of praise to our God. Indeed, He put a new song in my mouth again this week.