6th Sunday of Easter
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Written by Will Hickl
There are a couple of juxtapositions that strike me with today's psalm. One is that the refrain proclaims "cry out to God with joy". When I hear "crying out", I picture an emotional scene in a movie of someone in despair - but here we are proclaiming a "cry" of "joy". I think the intention of this language is to show our dependency for God, as He is our source for joy. When my son cries, my instinct is to comfort and take care of him however he needs. I suppose there's something about our "cries" even of "joy" that reinforce God's desire to provide and protect and comfort, not just in our valleys, but on our mountaintops as well.
The other one that struck me was the verse "He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot". When I hear the first line about drying out the sea, that to me doesn't sound pleasant - and how often does God take something from us without knowing why? Sometimes, He removes something that we believe is good, or that we think we need? But, He always knows better, as we see in the second half the purpose of drying the sea was so that "they [could pass] on foot". There have been moments in my life that the denial of something I desired led to the actual thing I needed - I just didn't have the eyes to see what God was doing until it happened.
The final verse exhorts:
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
As the Easter season comes to a close, let us all remember His goodness, His provision, and that He has done many things for us, and always will.
Do you cry out to God when you are joyful? In what areas has God removed something or kept it from happening in order to make way for what He wanted for you?
Will Hickl is the co-founder and President of NOVUM RECORDS, producer, worship leader, software designer, one half of the alt-rock duo NOVUM, and most importantly husband and father based out of Lewisville, TX. He is extremely passionate about seeing artists thrive, and desires to build good culture through art. You can find him on Instagram, check out his musings on his Substack, and check out his new worship music on Spotify or Apple Music.
Pray with today’s psalm.