Psalm 150: Praise Ye The Lord - Hallelu Yah

Psalm 150

¹Praise ye the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary:
      praise him in the firmament of his power.
²Praise him for his mighty acts:
      praise him according to his excellent greatness.
³Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
      praise him with the psaltery and harp.
⁴Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
      praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
⁵Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
      praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

⁶Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.

Praise ye the LORD.

Hallelu Yah, which is hebrew for Praise the Lord.  This past week marked the third anniversary since I started my journey through psalms.  For that I am grateful to God and praise the Lord.  My anniversary was not marked by fanfare or celebration - I simply went for a quiet walk with my son.  It's amazing the change that is in my life in three years.  I don't even know where to begin.  Secrets, lying and cheating have been replaced with honesty, serving, and contentment.  Porn, Drugs, and Alcohol have been replaced family, leadership, and community.

And there is much more work to do - God's transformative power continues to work in my life.  Just as life is one journey made up of smaller journey's.  In the same way, so is recovery.  Just because my journey through psalms is complete that doesn't mean I've completed my journey of recovery.  In fact, I still have several steps in the 12 steps which remain.

I want to thank all of you who joined me in this journey.  Thank you for all of your support.  Thank you for all of your prayers.  Of course, I would like thank God for bringing all of you into my life that could make this journey possible.  I want to wish you all the best in your personal journeys.  May you experience all the joy and relief that recovery has to offer - and may God always have His hand on you.  If you ever need support you can always reach me here...and, of course, you can always let God know what's going on.  If you need help finding God you can always make a prayer request.  Thanks again and God Bless.  Hallelu Yah.  Praise the Lord.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 149 (KJV): Sing to the LORD a new song

Psalm 149

¹Praise ye the LORD.

Sing unto the LORD a new song,
      and his praise in the congregation of saints.

²Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:
      let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
³Let them praise his name in the dance:
      let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
⁴For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people:
      he will beautify the meek with salvation.
⁵Let the saints be joyful in glory:
      let them sing aloud upon their beds.

⁶Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
      and a two-edged sword in their hand;
⁷To execute vengeance upon the heathen,
      and punishments upon the people;
⁸To bind their kings with chains,
      and their nobles with fetters of iron;
⁹To execute upon them the judgment written:
      this honour have all his saints.

Praise ye the LORD.

I remember in the first few months of my recovery my radio dial found its way to new stations.  I would find myself listening to Contemporary Christian music or even pastor sermons.  It was quite literally a, or many, new songs in my life.  And similar to other things in life music becomes an important context in which things happen.  Having those songs in the background, in my head when I woke up, humming them in the shower, all of these were part of my new outlook in recovery.  It was new and it was liberating and it was inspiring.  With God's support anything was possible - and still is.  Months and Years into recovery the trick is to continue to raise the bar.  Ways to be more sober, ways to to be closer to God, ways to serve him better.  If I stop looking for new ways to stay close to God I tread on the slippery slope that leads, inevitably, back to my addiction.  So, here's to a new chapter where I look for ways to stay close to God.

Dear Lord, Praise be your name for you have given me sobriety and recovery.  You have given me a whole new outlook on life.  God, you know me well, and you know how I get distracted and how I procrastinate.  You know I allow these distractions from building a stronger relationship with you.  For life gets busy and and its easy to get distracted from what's important.  You know I procrastinate in my recovery and in my 12 steps.  Forgive me and be with me.  Help me overcome these distractions and procrastination that I may become stronger in my recovery.  That I may build a stronger relationship with you.  That I may serve you more effectively.  That I may, like Psalm 149 says, sing to You a new song.  That I may sing You a song, that others hear and will want to sing-along to.  For your work is glorious and long to pay tribute to You.  Praise Ye the Lord.  Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 148 (KJV): Praise him, all ye stars of light

Psalm 148

¹Praise ye the LORD.

Praise ye the LORD from the heavens:
      praise him in the heights.
²Praise ye him, all his angels:
      praise ye him, all his hosts.
³Praise ye him, sun and moon:
      praise him, all ye stars of light.
⁴Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,
      and ye waters that be above the heavens.

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord:
      for he commanded, and they were created.
⁶He hath also stablished them for ever and ever:
      he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

⁷Praise the LORD from the earth,
      ye dragons, and all deeps:
⁸Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours;
      stormy wind fulfilling his word:
⁹Mountains, and all hills;
      fruitful trees, and all cedars:
¹⁰Beasts, and all cattle;
      creeping things, and flying fowl:
¹¹Kings of the earth, and all people;
      princes, and all judges of the earth:
¹²Both young men, and maidens;
      old men, and children:

¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD:
      for his name alone is excellent;
      his glory is above the earth and heaven.
¹⁴He also exalteth the horn of his people,
      the praise of all his saints;
      even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.

Praise ye the LORD.

Everyone and everything praise God.  Reading Psalm 148 feels like Christmas in August.  Surely we can be grateful for all of God's gifts.  His grace, His word, His beatitudes...all of His gifts.  Our riches, our friends and family, our sobriety.  Being a Christian is not necessarily all happiness, however, every day God gives us something, or some things, to celebrate.  Whether that's being sober, or having another day with our families,  or having His forgiveness, our task is to find that thing, or things, and celebrate them.  Then acknowledge and give credit to God for those thing.  From that respect, by celebrating His gifts and showing others His hope, we have the capacity to shine His light.  Not just to reflect His light, but to be His light...in this world.  So, let's praise Him, all ye stars of light.

Dear God, thank you for your gifts.  You have taught me patience.  You have brought me love and self control.  Without you I would likely be alone and miserable.  I would be blaming others for my downfall.  Instead, though You, I am successful in my sobriety.  I owe my life, and the successes in my life, to Your brilliance, Your power, and Your word.  Truly we should all be able to see Your gifts and praise Your name.  Let this psalm fall over others that we all may give You the credit.  Thank you for all Your blessings - Hallelu Yah.  Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 147 (KJV): The Lord doth...bindeth up their wounds

Psalm 147

¹Praise ye the LORD:

for it is good to sing praises unto our God;
      for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

²The LORD doth build up Jerusalem:
      he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
³He healeth the broken in heart,
      and bindeth up their wounds.
⁴He telleth the number of the stars;
      he calleth them all by their names.
⁵Great is our Lord, and of great power:
      his understanding is infinite.
⁶The LORD lifteth up the meek:
      he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

⁷Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
      sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
⁸Who covereth the heaven with clouds,
      who prepareth rain for the earth,
      who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
⁹He giveth to the beast his food,
      and to the young ravens which cry.
¹⁰He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:
      he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
¹¹The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
      in those that hope in his mercy.

¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem;
      praise thy God, O Zion.
¹³For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates;
      he hath blessed thy children within thee.
¹⁴He maketh peace in thy borders,
      and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
¹⁵He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth:
      his word runneth very swiftly.
¹⁶He giveth snow like wool:
      he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
¹⁷He casteth forth his ice like morsels:
      who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸He sendeth out his word, and melteth them:
      he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
¹⁹He sheweth his word unto Jacob,
      his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
²⁰He hath not dealt so with any nation:
      and as for his judgments, they have not known them.

Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 147 is the second of the five "Hallelu Yah" psalms, 146-150.  It's rather fitting to end the book of Psalms, and my journey, with the Psalms that "praise the Lord" (the literal meaning of Hallelu Yah).  The theme of this Hallelu Yah psalm is rebuilding of Isreal after the destruction from the Babylonians.  And like the Isrealites in Psalm 147, addicts have rebuilding to do.

Recovery from addiction is about healing, mending broken hearts and wounds - and of course rebuilding.  Rebuilding our lives and the lives of those around us, whose lives we impacted in our addiction.  For, as JK Rowling has said of her story, "Rock bottom is a great foundation to build success."  And so it is we call on our great and powerful God to start the process of rebuilding.

God, be with us today in our process of healing and rebuilding.  Some us are just starting and others are continuing.  Whatever the case, the path to recovery seems long - and often too difficult to be achievable.  Remind us that, just as Israel took a group of people over several years to rebuild, so too will our lives.  Remind us that it took several years for our addictions to break things apart - and that it will take several years to put it back together.  Be with us and give us the strength and support our process of rebuilding.  We do it to heal and mend our wounds.  We do it to rebuild our relationships.  Your greatness, God, makes for a great recovery.  I have seen Your love being rebuilt in my life, I pray that this is something I can share that others may see this love in their lives, too.  In Your name I pray - Hallelu Yah - Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 146: Happy is he...whose hope in the Lord

Psalm 146

¹Praise ye the LORD.
      Praise the LORD, O my soul.
²While I live will I praise the LORD:
      I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
³Put not your trust in princes,
      nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
⁴His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
      in that very day his thoughts perish.
⁵Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
      whose hope is in the LORD his God:

⁶Which made heaven, and earth,
      the sea, and all that therein is:
      which keepeth truth for ever:
⁷ Which executeth judgment for the oppressed:
      which giveth food to the hungry.
      The LORD looseth the prisoners:
⁸The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind:
      the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down:
      the LORD loveth the righteous:
⁹The LORD preserveth the strangers;
      he relieveth the fatherless and widow:
      but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

¹⁰The LORD shall reign for ever,
      even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.

Praise ye the Lord.

Nowadays we put hope in our morning cup of coffee - that it will wake us up and get us going in the morning. We put our hope in technology - that it will make our lives easier and more organized.  We put hope in - big titles and big promotions, that those things will help us worry less about money and feel more satisfied.  As addicts we put our hope in our addictions, that those things will help us to relax, or feel better, or forget our problems.  However, we all know those hopes are false.  They leave us only wanting and needing more.  This never-ending cycle of desire, gratification, desire, turns our lives upside down and leaves us wicked.

Truly happy people are those who are able to put their hope in our higher power - God.  His hope leaves us satisfied, feeling whole.  He gives us all that we need.  When we are at the end of our rope, when temptation has us in its traps, when there seems nothing left to live for - we can turn it all over to Him.  That is if we're ready to trust in Him.  We come to learn that our addictions are more powerful than us - and so only God can free of us these chains.  When we're ready, he does free us of those chains.  When we're ready he shines a light.  He sets us on the right path, and on the road to recovery.  So, put your hope in the Lord and recovery will follow.  This you can believe.

Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings.  Thank you for sobriety - after years of knowing nothing but intoxication.  Thank you for the chance to serve.  For it has been in serving that I have found my place.  Thank you for your lessons, which You teach everyday. The lessons teach me patience, humility, calm, honesty, and to be more like Your son, Jesus.  For I am only human, and left to my own devices, I will be selfish, greedy, proud, and deceiving.  Most of all I thank you for You hope.  I ask that you be with the addicts that still suffer.  Help them find hope in You.  Bring them a message that will help find the light that You shine.  The light that leads from the pit of addiction to path of recovery.  Be with them because the world of addiction is a confusing place.  One where, as You well know, life makes little sense.  Addicts need You to be the hope that brings sense and purpose to the world.  In your name I pray - AMEN.

Thanks for letting me share.