It's On My Mind

August 28, 2019 (Wednesday)

(From the Cambridge Bible Commentary):“The Book of Praises(Psalms 146-150) fitly ends with this full-toned call to universal praise with every accompaniment of jubilant rejoicing. It may have been composed as a closing doxology for the whole Psalter, corresponding to the doxologies at the end of the first four books; but it would seem rather to have been intended primarily, like the other Psalms of this group, for use in worship, and to have been placed at the end of the Book of Psalms on account of its inherent fitness.
“This noble close of the Psalter rings out one clear note of praise, as the end of all the many moods and experiences recorded in its wonderful sighs and songs. Tears, groans, wailings for sin, meditations on the dark depths of Providence, fainting faith and foiled aspirations, all lead up to this. The Psalm is more than an artistic close of the Psalter; it is a prophecy of the last result of the devout life, and in its unclouded sunniness as well as in its universality, it proclaims the certain end of the weary years for the individual and the world. ‘Everything that hath breath’ shall yet praise Jehovah” (Maclaren).
(From the Easy English Bible):“After 70 years in forced exile, the Jews went back to their own land. They built Jerusalem and the temple again. Then the Jews made the Book of Psalms. It was to sing in the new temple. They used psalms by Moses, by David, by Isaiah, by the sons of Korah and by many other people. But Bible students think that they wrote two new psalms for their book. They were Psalm 1 and Psalm 150. Maybe they wrote other psalms also, perhaps Psalms 146 – 149.”
(From Charles Haddon Spurgeon):“We have now reached the last summit of the mountain chain of Psalms. It rises high into the clear azure, and its brow is bathed in the sunlight of the eternal world of worship, it is a rapture. The poet prophet is full of inspiration and enthusiasm. He slays not to argue, to teach, to explain; but cries with burning words, ‘Praise him, Praise him, Praise ye the LORD.'”

Psalm 150
New International Version (NIV)
UNLIMITED PRAISE TO THE GOD WHO IS UNLIMITED IN HIS GREATNESS
1 Praise the Lord.

I. IN EVERY PLACE (1)
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.

II. FOR EVERY REASON (2)
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.

III. WITH EVERY EXPRESSION (3-5)
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

IV. WITH EVERY AVAILABLE BREATH (6)
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Compare three translations side by side. Click here.

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Click here for Pulpit Commentary notes on Psalm 150
Click here for Easy English Explanations about Psalm 150
Click here for Cambridge Bible Commentary notes on Psalm 150
Click here for Spurgeon’s Treasury of David on Psalm 150
Click here for the Enduring Word Commentary notes on Psalm 150

PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM!
Words, Frances J. Crosby
Music, Chester G. Allen
1869
Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus our blessed Redeemer,
Sing, O earth, His wonderful; love proclaim.
Hail Him! hail Him! highest archangels in glory,
Strength and honour give to His holy name,
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus our blessed Redeemer,
For our sins He suffered and bled and died;
He, our rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises, Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

Praise Him, praise Him Jesus our blessed Redeemer,
Heavenly portals loud with hosannas ring
Jesus, Savior, reigneth for ever and ever,
Crown Him, crown Him,
Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

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This concludes our study of the Book of Psalms, which we began on June 22, 2016. The blog each Wednesday became our study guide for the Psalms, which we studied each Wednesday evening at Bethel Baptist Church, Ingleside, Texas.

August 27, 2019 (Tuesday)
Sunday’s blog was about Harvey’s anniversary and Monday’s blog was about “the day after Harvey’s anniversary.” Today’s blog must then be about the day after the day after. Sounds silly, but here we are two years removed from the day that Harvey hit Texas and people are still dealing with the aftermath of that storm in various ways.
When things like injury or illness or general disaster hits us, sometimes they come to stay for a long while.
I recall when I was pastor in Dallas, one of the men of the church invited me to go with him and meet his son. His son was at work near downtown, and went with us next door to a restaurant to have coffee. It was in that restaurant that the son was hit by a car. A driver lost control of his vehicle and slammed through the plate glass wall, hitting the man I just met, who was still bearing the effects of that accident and would bear them the rest of his life. He was sitting in about the same place where he had been sitting years before when his life suddenly changed and would never be the same again. He wore special prosthetics and used crutches to move about.
We read about such accidents or hear about them on the evening news and go on about our business without giving what we just heard a second thought. But most of the time what we heard about was the beginning of a long period of suffering on the part of the sufferer and those close to him or her.
We all know people, and you may be one of them yourself, who got sick one day and instead of getting better, got worse. The illness turned into something worse, and the suffering continues day after day.
A hurricane is like that. It hits land. It moves on and dissipates. But that’s not the end of the pain it causes. It may get worse for people before getting better. That’s been the case for many since Harvey visited us, uninvited.
We as Christians must remember to keep people in our prayers. Their needs are ongoing; so our prayers should follow them throughout their time of need.
I have been blessed by what I have heard about what people are doing for each other, helping them in many ways, making themselves available and taking action to make things better for others. I’ve heard the testimonies of those who have let the Lord use them to be a blessing for others, and they are very inspirational.
Those who help others are living by the hymn that in itself is a prayer: “Others. Lord, yes others. Let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I might live like Thee.”

As you can see, the format of this blog has changed. I have given it a new name, “It’s On My Mind.” The print is larger, etc. which may help those with smaller screens as their monitors. Everything that was available in the past should be available now. I’m still learning about it all, so be patient, please, as we move forward with this blog.

August 26, 2019 (Monday)
The biggest hit of the 1890’s was, “After the Ball.” Today, the anniversary of viewing the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a parody of that grand old song is in my mind:

After the storm is over, after the break of morn,
After the power’s leaving, after the lights are gone,
Many a heart is aching, if you could read them all–
Many the hopes that have vanished after it all.

Like some of you, we got in the car and drove through the debris that the storm left behind. It was depressing to see ancient trees twisted in half, whole houses turned to heaps of lumber, bare lots where mobile homes used to sit, walls with no bricks, rooves with few shingles, windows with no glass, electric wires lying helpless in the street, awaiting an opportunity to claim more victims..
But early that morning there already were trucks loaded with goods and volunteers handing out food and other necessities. Then another group. And another, until some of the streets resembled the open markets of Third World countries, only everything was being offered as a gift to whomever would simply receive it. That was only the beginning. Volunteer work groups would come from all over the country. Two years later, the First Baptist Church, just this summer, has housed and fed 1,200 volunteers who have been working hard in behalf of those who need help.
Many types of help have been given and the people of this area continue to move toward a normal existence. Two years have passed. Much has been done. And more will be done in the future. We thank the Lord for all the local helpers, the organizations and agencies and every example of friendship and Christian love.
Let us hope and pray that we do not see another “day after” for a while.

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Repeating some lines from a recent blog song: “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I love ya’, tomorrow. You’re only a day away.”

August 25, 2019 (Saturday)
Remember the night of August 25-26, 2017? Many people from Rockport had evacuated to other areas of the state, as requested by authorities. But some remained and hunkered down to experience a very powerful hurricane, Hurricane Harvey. As I recall, the storm reached category 5 status briefly before slamming ashore at Rockport as category 4. Click here to review the landfall imagery in motion.
The hurricane moved toward Luling, weakening to a tropical storm, stopped, turned around and moved back through Victoria and Port Lavaca, then out to sea where it moved toward Louisiana, on the way devastating the Houston-Beaumont area with floods, and then made landfall again, moving northward, with remnants moving northeastward.

Rockport and nearby towns were severely damaged by wind, but up the coast in Houston and Beaumont and other areas, flooding of entire neighborhoods took place. Repairs, demolition and rebuilding are still taking place, and only estimates of damage to date can be known for certain. It is estimated that Hurricane Harvey had total costs of $125 billion–second only to Hurricane Katrina in the period of record, which had an approximate cost of $161 billion.
Nationwide, 107 people died in storm-related incidents: 103 in Texas, 2 in Arkansas, 1 in Tennessee, and 1 in Kentucky. Of the deaths in Texas, 68 were from the direct effects of Harvey, the highest such number in the state since 1919.

Harvey in the Gulf, Preparing to Come Ashore

My personal observations include City Hall, which sits idle, probably beyond repair as far as I know, County Courthouse, demolished, the old First Baptist buildings downtown, all demolished now. Sales taxes down, Some businesses closed forever, some will be reopened one of these days. And so it goes. First Baptist Church has housed and fed 1200 volunteers so far this summer. There is much more to the story, but as I age I know less about everything in general. I’ve noticed an increase in the number of cars on the beach this year, and many businesses are going strong.

TILL THE STORM PASSES BY
(Mosie Lister)
Recorded by:
Bill Gaither; Vestal Goodman; Greater Vision;
Inspirations; Ron Jarman; Ben Speer.
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place.
‘Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
Many times Satan whispered, “There is no need to try,
For there’s no end of sorrow, there’s no hope by and by”
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I’ll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies.
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore;
In that land where the tempest, never comes, Lord, may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Click here to hear.
The Gaither Vocal Band

August 24, 2019 (Saturday)
On this Saturday eve of Hurricane Harvey’s 2nd anniversary, perhaps you would like to be drawn closer to the Lord. If you have the time, please listen to these three songs–prayers to be drawn close to the Lord and feel his tender, loving care.
Draw Me Nearer

Draw Me Close

God Will Take Care of You

If this little meditation upon music takes too long for you at this moment, or if you prefer simply to pray or affirm the words of these songs, then here are the words:

DRAW ME NEARER – Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the Cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious bleeding side.
DRAW ME CLOSE – Draw me close to you. You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever needed. You’re all I want. Help me know you are near.
GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU – God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way. He will take care of you. God will take care of you.