We gather together

We gather together

We gather together 
to ask the Lord's blessing; 
He chastens and hastens 
His will to make known; 
The wicked oppressing 
now cease from distressing; 
Sing praises to His Name; 
He forgets not His own. 
Beside us to guide us, 
our God with us joining, 
Ordaining, maintaining 
His kingdom divine; 
So from the beginning 
the fight we were winning; 
Thou, Lord, were at our side, 
all glory be Thine! 
We all do extol Thee, 
Thou Leader triumphant, 
And pray that Thou still 
our Defender will be; 
Let Thy congregation 
escape tribulation; 
Thy Name be ever praised! 
O Lord, make us free! 
We gather together 
to ask the Lord's blessing.

Sing a new song

God is God and we are, first and foremost, creatures.  We were created, and through God we live and move and have our being.  We've been given the freedom to actually think that we have done it all on our own.  God has created us, but has granted us this strange freedom to live, and move, and have our being under the impression that God is not there, that God is not animating us, loving us, holding us, and abiding with us at every moment.

God being God, God is amazingly solid, and amazingly flexible when it comes to hearing us.  When we come to our senses, we turn to God - perhaps in turmoil, perhaps in tragedy, perhaps in extreme joy, perhaps in deep gratitude.  We turn to God and we offer praise.  Not us alone, but the whole world, the whole universe, the whole cosmos turns to God and offers praise - offers worship.  We offer a bit back to God for all that we've been given.  We finally come to our senses and have the realization that it all is gift.  Every morning is a morning of thanksgiving, every day given to us is a gift - not ours by right, not ours in return for our goodness or lack of goodness.  Every day is a day to offer praise and thanksgiving.

God being God, God relishes all the ways that we turn to God.  In every generation, new songs are sung, and new offerings are given.  The point, really, is in the offering - the song that is sung may be new, reflecting a new reality in our lives. "Sing to the Lord a new song," says the hymn.

"He has done marvelous things.
I, too, will praise him with a new song!"

So sing to the Lord a new song of praise!

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Earth and all stars, loud rushing planets,

sing to the Lord a new song!

O victory, loud shouting army,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Refrain:

He has done marvelous things.

I, too, will praise him with a new song!

Hail, wind, and rain, loud blowing snowstorms,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Flowers and trees, loud rustling leaves,

sing to the Lord a new song! Refrain

Trumpet and pipes, loud clashing cymbals,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Harp, lute, and lyre, loud humming cellos,

sing to the Lord a new song! Refrain

Engines and steel, loud pounding hammers,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Limestone and beams, loud building workers,

sing to the Lord a new song! Refrain

Classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Athlete and band, loud cheering people,

sing to the Lord a new song! Refrain

Knowledge and truth, loud sounding wisdom,

sing to the Lord a new song!

Daughter and son, loud praying members,

sing to the Lord a new song! Refrain

Words: Herbert F. Brokering (b. 1926) Music: Earth and All Stars, David N. Johnson (b. 1922)

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
unaccompanied by thee;
joyless is the day’s return,
till thy mercy’s beams I see;
till they inward light impart,
glad my eyes and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine;
pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
fill me, radiancy divine,
scatter all my unbelief;
more and more thyself display,
shining to the perfect day.

Charles Wesley