Your voice is important

Psalm 145

A psalm of praise of David.

¹ I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
² I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
³ Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.

⁴ Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
⁵ I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
⁶ Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
⁷ Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
⁹ The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.
¹⁰ All of your works will thank you, Lord,
and your faithful followers will praise you.
¹¹ They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they will give examples of your power.
¹² They will tell about your mighty deeds
and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
¹³ For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps his promises;
he is gracious in all he does.
¹⁴ The Lord helps the fallen
and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you in hope;
you give them their food as they need it.
¹⁶ When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
he is filled with kindness.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He grants the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
²⁰ The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys the wicked.

²¹ I will praise the Lord,
and may everyone on earth bless his holy name
forever and ever.

My mouth will speak, praise, proclaim, tell, cry, call, extol, commend … I am reminded that it is so important as to how we speak. 

James 3 tells us that our words, whether spoken, written or shared in anyway can bring life or death.  God watches the way we speak.   We need to be so careful how we speak, whether in private or public.

As a talker, I have had to continue to watch this area.  I have focussed a lot on how I speak, and I am very conscious of trying to be life giving in my words.  I continue to try to talk less and listen more.  So, for me I practice speaking praise, blessing and joy, rather than complain and criticise.  If God spoke the world into existence – words have life. 

Lord, help me to be measured and careful in my words.  Lord, help me to bring life to others by how I speak.  May my words be life giving and loving.  In Jesus name. Amen.

Written by Ps. Sue Botta