God’s Benefits #2

Another benefit I would like to praise God for is the gift of music.

When I was young my dear mother used to sing joyful songs. My parents arranged guitar lessons and the teacher taught me the fundamentals of rhythm and notes. I enjoyed the guitar greatly and worked until I had thick callouses on my left hand fingers. One day I was meditating on what I would rescue if there was only one thing I could take if the house burned down. I decided it would be my guitar; it brought me such joy and happiness.

“I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” Ps. 104:33,34

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in His Sanctuary: Praise Him in the firmament of His Power.

Praise Him for His mighty acts: Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with the psaltery and harp
Praise Him with the timbrel and pipe: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs.” Ps. 150: 1-4

Several years ago my mother’s cousin died and bequeathed to me a small portable organ. When I was in college at Canadian Union College, r was privileged to take piano lessons for one year. I had secretly wished that I had one available to me so I could practice daily. The LORD answered my hidden desire – how good He is!

“Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: Praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise YE the LORD.” Ps. 150: 5,6

“And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, 0 Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for His mercy endures forever.

And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten…

And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Blessing; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was caned, the valley of Blessing unto this day.

Then they returned., every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD made them to rejoice over their enemies.”

“And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the ~ORR., fought against “,the enemies of Israel.” II Chron. 20:19-22, 26-29.

Heavenly music makes Satan and all his helpers flee away. It can bring sunshine and happiness to the deepest gloom and brighten up the darkest day.

Let us learn to praise God now in the shadows, because there are densely dark days ahead when we will need every happy influence to see us through. Just a few days ago I attended anniversary celebration with my mother. The family was very musical and not much of the music was very heavenly, however you could not help, but Jove the people and so could have been easily drawn to unite in some of their foolishness. However I had been practicing and singing “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” and the soothing rhythm and words kept playing inside my head during the whole program and enabled me to keep my sanity and spirituality.

When we begin to learn to sing and praise in every situation entered upon prayerfully, God will begin to use us to reach, souls where they are and bring them out of their gloomy prison houses of sin into the sunshine and peace and rest and hope of His love. ..And God knows there are thousands of hungry, thirsty, fearful, perplexed sours right close around us.

May God help us to work fast while it is daylight; the night comes quickly when no man can work. AMEN

Sister Kathleen Ross Alberta Canada