MERRY MONDAY BY PARRIS-
“Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.” Ps.33:1
So many things have happened in the revival years of 1994 to present. One of the constant remarks people would say to me was how young I looked, like years rolled off of me. Joy does that don’t you know? Takes off the heavy burdens we have been unconsciously carrying over the years, the bitterness that seems to ebb away at our strength. I had no idea how much weight I had been carrying around! Then the mighty wind blows and our youth is returned like the eagles! Our marriages are restored, missionaries pour into the mission fields and joy becomes us! Learning to live daily in revival is our quest. In other words never letting go of our praise. It has been years since that first joy broke out in our church taking us all by surprise and ripping off the masks we try so hard to hold onto. Today while in worship with our precious church, I looked around and saw so many people deep in worship. Their facial expression changed from hardness to being softer. My heart goes out to so many that have resorted to the “church in their house mentality”. Somewhere in time they became offended and started their journey back into seclusion, carrying their bitterness and burden.
The Expositors Bible says, “Praise fits and adorns the lips of the upright. Praise gilds the gold of purity and adds grace even to the beauty of holiness. The psalm has no trace of special recent mercies, but to the devout soul the old deeds are never antiquated, and each new meditation on them breaks into new praise. So inexhaustible is the theme that all generations take it up in turn, and find “songs unheard” and “sweeter” with which to celebrate it. There is always room for a fresh voice to praise the old gospel the old creation, the old providence.This new song is saturated with reminiscences of old ones, and deals with familiar thoughts which have come to the psalmist with fresh power.”
How much praise you ask? Lets roll off the years of hurt, pain, and sorrow by allowing our praise to be vocal, mediative and habitual. It adorns us like priestly garments, like the wings of an angel, it becomes us like our kingly crowns for it is our highest honor. I believe it to be the best face lift ever! For to be without praise is to miss our comeliest adornment. I pray you too take up “the new song” while we in this generation take our place in the great hall of praise.