I woke early yesterday and couldn’t go back to sleep, so began to pray instead. As I said my familiar morning prayers, the opening words, shape and direction of today’s blog burst into my mind.
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
(Luke 1:46-7; NIV).
1. I glorify the grace of God,
The mind, and heart, and face
Of God.
2. I celebrate the light of God,
The truth, and peace, and might
Of God.
3. I bow before the fire of God,
The jealousy and ire
Of God.
4. I venerate the hope of God,
The comfort, joy, and scope
Of God.
5. I witness to the love of God,
The Spirit, and the Son
Of God.
6. Lord,
Forgive my sin and shame,
And help me magnify your Name.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
(Psalm 34:3; NKJV).
References
Verse 1:
*The grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. (Titus 2:11; NLT).
*The LORD your God is more powerful than all other gods and lords, and his tremendous power is to be feared. His decisions are always fair, and you cannot bribe him to change his mind. (Deuteronomy 10:17; CEV).
*The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21; NIV).
*Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”) (Genesis 32:30; NLT).
Verse 2:
* God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).
*The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).
*The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).
*Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you (2 Chronicles 20:6; NIV).
Verse 3:
The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24; NLT).
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents (Job 20:28; NLT).
Verse 4:
*I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13; NLT).
*He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us (2 Corinthians 1:4; NLT).
*Yahweh, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17; WEB).
*God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11; NLT).
Verse 5:
*God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
*No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39; NLT).
*God is Spirit (John 4:24; NLT).
*The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35; NLT).
Verse 6:
*Forgive us our sins (Luke 11:4; NLT).
*You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken! (Ezekiel 16:63; NLT).