Join the choir

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. — Psalm 89:1

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in concert. Nearly 200 people who had been redeemed out of the bowels of Brooklyn — former crack addicts and prostitutes included — sang their hearts out to God. Their faces glistened with tears running down their cheeks as they sang about God’s work of redemption and forgiveness in their lives.

As I watched them, I felt somewhat shortchanged. Since I was saved when I was 6, I didn’t feel the same depth of gratefulness that they displayed as they sang about the dramatic rescue God had provided for them. I was saved from things like biting my sister — not exactly a significant testimony!

Then the Spirit reminded me that if He had not rescued me when I was young, who knows where my life would be today? What destructive paths would I have stumbled down if He had not been teaching me qualities like servanthood and self-control?

It became clear that I too am a great debtor to His grace. It’s not only what we are saved “out of” but what we have been saved “from” that makes our hearts worthy of a spot is the chorus of the redeemed. Anyone who receives Jesus as Savior is welcome to join in the choir of praise: “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever” (Ps. 89:1) — Joe Stowell

He’s been faithful, faithful to me;

Looking back, His love and mercy I see

Though in my heart I’ve questioned, even failed to believe.

He’s been faithful, faithful to me. — Cymbala

READ: Psalm 89:1-8

Praise flows freely from the choir of the redeemed.

The Bible in one year:

• Psalms 18-20