16 Come close and listen,
all you who honor God;
I will tell you what God has done for me:
17 My mouth cried out to him
with praise on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished evil in my heart,
my Lord would not have listened.
19 But God definitely listened.
He heard the sound of my prayer.
20 Bless God! He didn’t reject my prayer;
he didn’t withhold his faithful love from me.
Reflection
66:1 “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth” is the introduction to this Psalm. In my reflection, I follow it with verses 66:16-20. Like all psalms, this one is designed for singing in a worshipful setting. I imagine the worship setting could be a large congregation or perhaps a very thankful individual. It might be a choral group singing with an orchestra, or perhaps an
individual on a mountain top. As I think of the joyful singing coming from a celebration of life, the image that appeared for me was the importance that singing and music in general has had on my children. They are grown now with children of their own but from the time each of them was an infant he or she has listened to a wide variety of music. Music from classical to rock n’ roll was playing non-stop in our home from the time each child was born. And the answer to their cries in the middle of the night was me, rocking them and singing to them as they settled back into a peaceful slumber. Music is a universal language.
Psalm 66 reminds us that music is a beautiful way we communicate our prayers to God. Verse 17 says “My mouth cried out to him with praise on my tongue.” Singing or playing music are beautiful ways to say “thank you” to God and to offer prayers to our Lord.
As I reflect on today’s scripture I am also reminded of the person who taught me to love music: my mother. When my mother was aging and her memory deteriorating, she continued to love music, and she could remember the words to songs even when she didn’t recall my name or that of my siblings or children. One day I went to visit her with my oldest son and his new wife. When I was reminding my mother of each of our names, I suggested songs that included each of our names. Amazingly, she recalled verses of three different songs that included our names! And she sang each of those songs with a smile and with full voice. Music inspired my mother from the beginning of her life until she drew her last breath. Music is the sound of the angels! It is no surprise that angels are often depicted with harps!
by Kathleen Stolz
For Pondering and Prayer
Numerous psalms, countless hymns and hundreds of contemporary gospels have become popular through the ages, either because of the words or because of the music that has been composed through the years. Quite possibly, some hymns such as “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art” are sung in contemporary settings by people who never attend church but they are still well known. Some songs and Christmas carols like “Silent Night” are sung in many, many languages by people throughout the world. Sometimes it is the words to a hymn that are sung with inspiration of the Spirit and other times it is the tune that makes it memorable.
What is your favorite hymn? Why?
Prayer: Musical God, we give thanks for the movement of your spirit throughout the world in the unique language of sound. We are blessed by hearing your voice through new musical compositions as well as hearing familiar tunes that bring us back to familiar places and times. Thank you for the language of music that comes to us through a variety of venues. When we are filled with joy, be with us as we celebrate you. When we are feeling melancholy comfort us. In all phases of life, we give you thanks for the message of music that brings us home to you. Amen.
