Enter His Gates

"Enter His gates...", but what can I bring?
What kind of thanks is fit for a king?
Should I bring a song, originally composed,
Or just sing a few hymns that everyone knows?
When my propensity to bring You praise
is likened to an awkward first date--
making small talk just to kill the silence,
and you can feel the violence
of a sea of empty words and an empty phrase,
would it be enough if I just stand amazed?
When I fumble for the words to attribute to your might,
a simple "Thank you" is on my lips,
and although it seems light,
I'm like a kid preparing a Christmas Wish List--
the list is extensive and long
as I count all the times you've been my strength and my song.


"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name."
Psalm 100:1-4

"The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
 I will not die, but live,
And tell of the works of the Lord.
The Lord has disciplined me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.

 Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
The righteous will enter through it.
I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation."
Psalm 118:14-21


AEJ 11/19/2012 10:35AM