March 26: Praise God for His Salvation
♫ Music:
Day 25 - Saturday, March 26
Title: PRAISE GOD FOR HIS SALVATION
Scripture: Psalm 98
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together
before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.
Poetry:
“I am a Christian”
by Carol Wimmer
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin.”
I’m whispering “I was lost,”
Now I’m found and forgiven.
When I say…”I am a Christian”
I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not holier than thou,
I’m just a simple sinner
who received God’s good grace, somehow.
PRAISE GOD FOR HIS SALVATION: HOW GREAT THOU ART
While writing this devotional I was transported back in my mind to the congregation of my youth, Calvary Baptist Church on Goff Avenue in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Every Sunday evening we sang the church’s theme song, “At Calvary.” I can see that simple cinder block building and the faces of the faithful Sunday night crowd. No one needed the notes or words. They enthusiastically sang from memory—some with eyes closed; some with a steadfast, always abounding demeanor; others with tears of joy. During my teen years I grew tired of singing the same songs over and over. But now, I cling to the words and melodies of those long-forgotten, precious old hymns. I find myself singing the third verse of “At Calvary'' in thanksgiving and praise to our Savior frequently.
O the love that drew salvation's plan,
O the grace that brought it down to man,
O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.
Mercy there was great and grace was free.
Pardon there was multiplied to me.
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.
Today’s art, part of painter Suzy Schultz’s “Singer Series,” shares similarities. Phillip Banks, who posed for Schultz, sang hymns and spirituals he remembered as a child while Suzy made preparatory sketches for her mural. Her work of public art is the perfect piece for the following reflection.
Like Banks, a blessing I’ve taken with me into adulthood is the dozens of hymns I memorized growing up. Researchers indicate that as we fade and our health declines, music is the very last thing to go. Evidently the auditory cortex is the region of the brain that processes music. It stores musical memories even when amnesia and dementia erases everything else. Those with advanced Alzheimer’s disease who have completely stopped communicating often start to sing and become animated when they hear a familiar song they loved earlier in their lives. Dr. Peter Weiss who is interested in music’s ability to heal writes, “Music Therapy is currently used to help treat chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease, strokes, addiction, autism, dementia, neonatal intensive care and many more illnesses and conditions. Music as a sound wave can also calm the parasympathetic nervous system.”
Psalm 98 is a psalm all about praising God for His great salvation with sound and music. This salvation that Jesus secured at Calvary goes out to the entire world. “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things. The Lord has made known His salvation to the house of Israel and to all the ends of the earth.” Bible teacher F.B. Meyer wrote, “The song of redeeming grace can never grow old. . . .Are not His mercies new every morning, and His faithfulness every night?” The song of praise in Psalm 98 is a full-bodied, loud, and joyful response that is heard far and wide. In contrast, Carol Wimmer’s spirit-filled poem, “I am a Christian” is a quiet song of thanksgiving and praise. Whatever the dynamics, throughout Scripture God commands his people to sing. “Making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19) is foundational to faith regardless of how we sound. Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are like glue that sticks—they seep down deep into our souls healing our diseases.
The psalmist enthusiastically encourages his audience to spontaneously break forth into melody, singing that sweet, sweet song of salvation with harps and horns, instruments that add yet another dimension to this unending song of victory. But he doesn’t stop there. The psalmist goes on to invite everyone and everything in all creation to praise the Lord. Psalm 148 offers an inclusive list of the participants in the ongoing symphony of praise: “angels and all heavenly hosts; the sun, moon and stars; sea creatures and all bodies of water; fire and hail, snow, clouds and wind; mountains, hills and trees; beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl; rulers of the earth and all peoples both young men and maidens; old men and children.” The psalmist concludes, “Let them [all] praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. For He is coming to judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.”
The universe is one giant symphony. Every part of it is in harmony, vibrating in tune with Christ, the master conductor. St. Paul tells us that all things are made in Christ and through Christ who is before all things and in whom all things are held together (Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:1). The vast, unfathomable universe and everything in it exists to offer praise back to Christ who has from the very beginning been the focal point of all creation, the center of worship in heaven and on earth. Pastor Louie Giglio says it best,
Jesus put his heartbeat inside of us, he put breath in our lungs so that we could sing out the praise of the God of all creation who has called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light. God’s got a universe praising him, he’s got an angel army praising him, but he wants your voice in the symphony. You and I were made in the very likeness and image of God Almighty. Our voices matter to him. Every one of us is unique and he wants your voice in the symphony. When I think about his mercy, when I see his grace, when I think about Jesus there’s only one response: it’s all of me, it’s everything I’ve got. It’s my life, it’s all of me in praise of him. When humans celebrate, people respond with everything they’ve got. Christ has conquered death, beat hell and the grave and given us the gift of everlasting life. I’m gonna come to him with a shout of praise—with all my life. I’m not gonna be out worshiped by a whale.
Thank God for the marvelous gift of music and for giving us the ability to voice our imperfect hallelujahs through melody. I have a friend who consistently asks the Lord to direct her to hymns and worship songs that she can then offer back to him, even though she isn’t a great singer. In these tough times we need to praise God more than ever. Praising Christ through music changes our perspectives, transforms our hearts, and eases the pain. Look up, sing your new song to the Lord with everything you’ve got, for our redemption is drawing near.
Prayer
O God, our God, who has brought into being by Your will all the powers endowed with speech and reason, we beg and beseech You to accept our Praises which, together with all Your creatures, we now offer according to our strength. Reward us with the rich gifts of Your goodness. For to You every knee bows down, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every breath, and every created being sings Your ineffable glory, for You alone are the true and most merciful God. All heavenly powers praise You, and to You we also send up glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
––– from the Eastern Orthodox Sunday morning liturgy
Barry Krammes
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Singer
Suzy Schultz
2017
24 x 27 ft.
Sherwin Williams Resilience Paint on masonry
Atlanta BeltLine Corridor
Atlanta, Georgia
The Singer mural was commissioned by Art on the Atlanta BeltLine, the city of Atlanta’s largest temporary public art exhibition space along the Atlanta BeltLine Corridor. The mural was part of the Singer Series that the artist Suzy Schultz had been working on for years, and was painted on the side of a tunnel in the southwest part of the Atlanta Beltline. One of the artist's neighbors, who had been a part of that series, came into her studio and sang hymns his mother had sung to him as a child while she sketched him. Schultz recalled that he brought an energy into the studio that was "soulful and healing," and Schultz decided to bring that energy out onto the street. Friends at Pendery/Pepper Productions audiotaped him singing, and put together a video of the mural's progress which also featured audio of him singing a cappella. At the unveiling of the mural, there was a gathering under the tunnel to sing some of the hymns that had been sung during the creation of the piece. Mr. Phillip Banks, the model for the mural, came and sang as part of the group.
About the Artist:
Suzy Schultz is an artist whose paintings and drawings explore the themes of longing, struggle, and the hope of transformation. Schultz grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was encouraged in her art by her artist mother, and later her boss/mentor at a missions agency. She has painted full-time since 1995. Her work has won many awards, and has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the US, as well as in art books and magazines. She writes about her work: “I am drawn to subjects that have gone through the fire—whether through hardships, doubts, failures, or just the weathering of life—and have emerged refined with beauty, dignity or resilience. My models are members of my community, my neighbors and my friends. I paint them because they give me hope that those fires of life could produce beauty, strength and dignity in myself. Through my work I attempt to show that transformation is possible, not only in my Atlanta neighborhood, but in the community at large.” Most recently, she has ventured into street art, taking the fine art of the studio outside and onto the sides of buildings. Her murals can be seen in Atlanta, Georgia, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Suzy lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work can be seen at Art on Broad in Augusta, Georgia, and dk Gallery in Marietta, Georgia.
www.suzyschultz.ne
About the Music:
“How Great Thou Art” - single
Lyrics:
Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
About the Performers:
The Tenors (formerly known as The Canadian Tenors) are a vocal group consisting of Victor Micallef, Fraser Walters, and Clifton Murray. They perform operatic pop music that is a mixture of classical and pop, featuring songs such as "The Prayer," "Panis angelicus," and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." The Tenors have been thrilling audiences around the world with their powerful songs, outstanding harmonies, and undeniable charm. Blending classical music and contemporary pop, the award-winning and multi-platinum selling band have achieved international success, performing over 1000 live shows and hundreds of TV appearances on five continents. The Canadian vocal supergroup has performed for the last four Presidents of the United States, including at the White House Christmas Tree Lighting for the Obama family, for the world leaders at the G20 Summit, for the opening ceremonies of the XXI Olympic Winter Games, for Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, The Oprah Winfrey Show with Celine Dion, the Primetime Emmy Awards, and the NBC Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Centre. The Tenors have had the honor of sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in music including Sir Paul McCartney, Sarah McLachlan, Sting, Justin Bieber, Andrea Bocelli, Sir Elton John, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, and David Foster.
https://tenorsmusic.com/
About the Hymn and Composer:
"How Great Thou Art" is a hymn based on a Swedish traditional melody and a poem written by Carl Boberg (1859–1940) in Monsteras, Sweden, in 1885. Boberg was a carpenter's son, worked briefly as a sailor, and served as a lay minister in the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden. He was the editor of a weekly Christian newspaper, Sanningsvittnet (Witness of the Truth), from 1890 until 1916. He published more than sixty poems, hymns, and gospel songs. The hymn was translated into German and then into Russian; it was translated into English from the Russian by English missionary Stuart K. Hine, who also added two original verses of his own. The hymn was popularized by George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows during the Billy Graham crusades."How Great Thou Art" was ranked second––after "Amazing Grace"––on a list of the favorite hymns of all time in a survey by Christianity Today magazine in 2001.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Great_Thou_Art
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Boberg
About the Poet:
After twenty-two years of church ministry, as a director of music and artistic ministries, Carol Wimmer felt a call that led her away from the institutional model of the church. From 1996 to 2000, she experienced an intense time of spiritual growth. The new insights opened the door to fresh theological perspectives in three areas of human concern: time, language, and the organization of God’s people. Believing that personal insight must be grounded in credible scholarship, Carol entered the field of biblical research as an independent researcher. Her studies culminated in the presentation of several academic papers within the Society of Biblical Literature. She has published three books to date and is planning to publish her fourth book soon. She hopes her research will help, in some small way, to reorient the focus of the collective human spirit in the areas of time, language and organization. Carol writes from a visionary perspective. She offers spiritual insights gained through the lens of light, color and images of Creation. Ms. Wimmer lives in Tulsa, OK with her husband of fifty years. In their free time, she and her husband enjoy gardening, carpentry, interior design, and renovating old or neglected houses. Together, they have two children and three grandchildren. Carol enjoys communing with nature. She participates in a Christian Unity Discussion Group, Inter-faith opportunities within the Tulsa, OK area, and is an active participant in an online mentoring group consisting of scholars and theologians around the world.
https://carolwimmer.com/about/
About the Devotion Author:
Barry Krammes
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
Artist and educator Barry Krammes (b. 1951) received his B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his M.F.A. in two-dimensional studies from University of Wisconsin, Madison. For thirty-five years, he was employed at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he was the art chair for fifteen years. Krammes is an assemblage artist whose work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally. His work can be found in various private collections throughout the United States and Canada. He has taught assemblage seminars at Image Journal’s annual Glen Summer Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Krammes has served as the visual arts coordinator for the C. S. Lewis Summer Institute in Cambridge, England, and has been the program coordinator for both Biola University’s annual arts symposium and the Center for Christianity Culture and the Arts (CCCA) for several years. He has also been the editor of CIVA: Seen Journal for Christians in the Visual Arts, a national arts organization. For the last five years of his time at Biola, he was the planning coordinator for the CCCA. Krammes was the originator of the Advent and Lent Projects for Biola University.
https://www.barrykrammes.com/