Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. (Psalm 33:1-3)
Our great God and Savior, we come before you today to worship you in spirit and in truth. You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Your Word is upright. All your work is done in faithfulness. And the earth is full of your steadfast love. Our reasons for praising you are innumerable. We desire to shout for joy in the Lord, as the righteous are called to do. Yet we must first confess that we have fallen short of your glory. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. We have not given you the praise and thanksgiving that belongs to you. We have kept some back for ourselves, or for other false gods. We have acted entitled, instead of thankful. This, we forsake and ask for your mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ your Son. You alone are worthy of praise, and we are to be thankful to you in all circumstances.
By your grace, help us to do that, so that we might shout for joy in the Lord with the righteous. We ask that you might grant to each of your people here today, the assurance of pardon that we have in Jesus Christ your Son. That we might know your steadfast love that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. In your mercy, grant us this joy of salvation that we might return it in praise, song, and thankfulness to you.
For this, and for all things, we give you thanks. May we sing your praise today with thankfulness and grace in our hearts. May your Spirit working in us and through us, offer to you, an ensemble of living strings and a melody of praise to your ears, that you would be pleased, and that our hearts might be strengthened.
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