This next song was written by Darlene Zschech in 1983. It was first released in 1994 by Hillsong Worship. A link to Hillsong performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.
Shout to the Lord
My Jesus, my Savior
Lord there is none like You
All of my days I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love
My comfort, my shelter
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You
Shout to the Lord all the Earth, let us sing
Power and majesty, praise to the King
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name
I sing for joy at the work of Your hand
Forever I’ll love You, forever I’ll stand
Nothing compares to the promise I have
In You
My Jesus, my Savior
Lord there is none like You
All of my days I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love
You’re my comfort
And my shelter
You’re my tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease…
Most if not all of the people reading this Blog have probably heard of Jesus, know a lot about Jesus, and have maybe even come to know Jesus in your heart. The beginning of this song puts the love of Jesus into a better perspective. He is not just the son of God and the one who died for our sins, he is a personal savior for each of us. All of us can have a personal relationship with Jesus. When we accept him as Lord and savior, he becomes your Jesus; the one person who really knows your heart. Each of us can say ‘My Jesus’ and not be selfish. John 10:14-15 reminds us of how the shepherd knows his sheep and Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. Jesus should be thought of not just as the son of God, but a personal savior and the closest friend we could ever have. Why wouldn’t we want to sing our praises to him as long as we live? There is no greater love and no greater friend than Jesus our savior.
Not only has he prepared a place for us in heaven by giving his life for us, he is the only person who we confess to and not be judged for our mistakes. He died for those mistakes, but is always there to let us fully open our hearts to him. His door is always open to us to give us the comfort we need in times of trials and suffering; as well as being the strength we need to overcome whatever the world throws at us. Because of what Christ does for us and has done for us, we should worship him with everything we have and fall on our knees before him. Some seem to believe they only need to do this on the day(s) they go to church, but isn’t he worth much more than this?
All of us should carry the message of Jesus to the world. The world can be your home, your neighborhood, your town, your country, or all of the globe. Note that the song says shout to the Lord. I believe this means to speak openly and not be ashamed of the message of Christ. There is no greater power than God and all of creation is the work of his hands alone. There would be no mountains without him, no powerful and beautiful seas, and no gorgeous sunsets.
The song references many times that we should sing the praises. Perhaps this is because we are more likely to sing from the heart and talk from the head. I also believe that even though we may not memorize scripture as we should, we may know a lot of songs that share the message of Christ. It is true that many of us can hardly carry a tune, but God is hearing what is coming from our heart, not the sound coming from our throats. Our songs should be songs of joy, praise, and thankfulness since no one or no thing can even come close to matching the promise of eternal life.