When I see all you’ve made, Lord, I sing “Hallelujah!”

Just look at the rain and the rivers and all the animals refreshed by them!

Just look at the grass and the grain and all the creatures nourished by them!

Just look at the sun, the sea and the stars and all the life enriched by them!

Your creation leads me to celebration.

The more I see of what you’ve made, the more I just have to say, “Hallelujah!”

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My soul praises you Lord.

You are to us whom you were to Moses–compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love.

Your love is so generous it seems to stretch from my back porch to the full moon.

If we stand on one side of the globe, you exile our failures to the opposite side.

They can no more catch us than the sunrise can catch the sunset.

My soul praises you Lord.

Lord, my heart was filled with wrong.

Now you are filled with wrath.

You are angry with me.

Frustrated.

Disappointed.

How I mourn and long to mend our marred relationship!

I eat ashes for food.

I consume tears for drink.

Yet even in my failure, I have faith in our future.

For your compassion is even greater than your wrath.

Your love is even hotter than your anger.

Mercy, Lord.

Have mercy.

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Lord, because you are full of love and justice, I make this vow:

I will be blameless.

I will expel evil from my life.

I will rescue my neighbor from injustice.

I will remedy whatever is wrong in my home, my city, and my land.

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Lord, you are good.

Your love never runs out.

Your loyalty never runs dry.

You are our creator.  We are your creation.

You are our shepherd.  We are your sheep.

Because of you, we shout for joy.

We sing with smiles.

We worship with gladness.

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Lord, I sometimes forget.

I forget that you are a great big God.

I forget that you are a holy God, unlike any other.

You’re the one who delivered a band of nobodies from the nation of somebodies.

You’re the one whose deeds are far greater than my imagination.

Forgive me for the ways I treat you like a small and tiny God.

May you be magnified in and through my life today.

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Lord, some days what you do is so sensational, everyone sees it.

It’s the work everyone witnesses–even those on the back row.

Lord, some days what you do is so stupendous, everyone sings it.

It’s the song everyone shouts–even the sea, the rivers, and the mountains.

May today be one of those days.

May your work today be something we cannot help but witness.

May your song today be one we cannot help but sing.

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Lord, no one can deny it.

You are in charge.

Your might and majesty are like the raging storm.

Before you cold mountains melt like hot wax.

Before you other “deities” tremble with dread.

And not only does your thunder roll.

So does your justice and mercy.

You are an awesome God.

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There is none like you Lord!

Such splendor and strength!

May all the earth sing to you:

the families of the nations,

the fish of the sea,

the fields brimming with crops,

and the forests filled with creatures.

May your whole creation become a chorus whose song is you.

May my voice join creation’s chorus in praising you today.

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We’re jumping for joy.

We’re shouting and singing.

We’re absorbed in adoration.

Why?

Because this planet is in your hands.

You made it.

It belongs to you.

And because your people are in your hands.

You made us.

We belong to you.

No matter what problem your planet or your people face, both are held securely in your hands.