Psalm 48

0A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites.
1  Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
  in the city of our God.
 His holy mountain,
2 beautiful in elevation,
  is the joy of all the earth,
 Mount Zion, in the far north,
  the city of the great King.
3  Within its citadels God
  has shown himself a sure defense.
4  Then the kings assembled,
  they came on together.
5  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
  they were in panic, they took to flight;
6  trembling took hold of them there,
  pains as of a woman in labor,
7  as when an east wind shatters
  the ships of Tarshish.
8  As we have heard, so have we seen
  in the city of the LORD of hosts,
 in the city of our God,
  which God establishes forever. Selah
9  We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
  in the midst of your temple.
10  Your name, O God, like your praise,
  reaches to the ends of the earth.
 Your right hand is filled with victory.
11   Let Mount Zion be glad,
 let the towns of Judah rejoice
  because of your judgments.
12  Walk about Zion, go all around it,
  count its towers,
13  consider well its ramparts;
  go through its citadels,
 that you may tell the next generation
14   that this is God,
 our God forever and ever.
  He will be our guide forever.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 48:1)

O Great God, You are great beyond all measure, great beyond words, great beyond my comprehension. Your greatness calls forth my praise.

I praise You for the majesty of Your creation, which mirrors Your own supreme glory.

I praise You for Your matchless holiness, for Your purity and perfection.

I praise You for the wonder of Your grace, which You give with such utter lavishness and joy.

I praise You for the tenderness of Your mercy, for all the times You have saved me from the pit.

Postscript

Over the years I've been in worship services – sometimes leading them – which have gone long. Gasp! A supposedly 75 minute service goes to 84 minutes. A 60 minutes service stretches to 65. Inevitably, somebody complains about worship going on too long. Now the length could be a result of poor planning and execution. But sometimes I wonder what this says about the person who wants to give God so little time. If God is great, and greatly to be praised, should I be bothered when I'm asked to praise God for a few more minutes than I had planned?

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved