O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing!
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“O for a thousand tongues to sing!”
Today is “Thanksgiving Day” in my church, Tesano Baptist Church; and I cannot be more grateful for God’s mercies, help, maintenance and sustenance.
“O for a thousand tongues to sing”, Methodist Hymn 1 (GBH 6), is the first hymn in the Methodist Hymn book, and rightly so! It sets the tone for what happens on a high pitch of praises to God!
This hymn of “Praise and Worship” was written by the hymn-writer of the Wesley family, Charles Wesley, perhaps the great hymn-writer of all ages taking quantity and quality into consideration. He was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley; and a brother to John Wesley, the great evangelical Christian credited with the founding of Methodism.
This hymn originally consisted of eighteen stanzas, but most hymnals have modified the text to include stanzas 7-12, leaving out the first six stanzas which are primarily autobiographical of Wesley’s conversion experience; and end with the original stanza 1, the doxology stanza. The title of the song was acquired by Wesley from his Moravian friend, Peter Böhler, who said,
“If I had a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ with them all” (Psalter Hymnal Handbook.)
Böhler was actually quoting from Johan Mentzner’s German Hymn,
“O dass ich tausend Zungen hätte,” (“Oh that I had a Thousand Voices.”)
The reference to “a thousand tongues” may allude to Revelation 5:11 which says
“I heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands.”
One of the scriptures texts that inspired, “O for a thousand tongues to sing”is in Psalm 9.
READ Psalm 9:1-2
“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”
(Psalm 9:1-2, NKJV)
This Psalm titled, “Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Righteous Judgements”, was written by David.
The fact that this Psalm was addressed to the Chief Musician implies what we are reading as a Psalm is actually a song. In this song, David said he would praise the Lord with his whole heart, and tell of His marvelous works. Saying I will praise the Lord, in words, is something; but singing it as a song is another thing altogether; because the song itself is a praise to Him! In other words, he was saying he will praise the Lord while praising the Lord. That is continuous praise!
In church today, there was a small sketch which reminds us that we stop focusing on the things we think the Lord has not done for us; and rather look at all that the Lord has done for us!
In a sermon with anchor text based on 1 Chronicles 16:34, which says,
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever,“
The head Pastor admonished us that thanksgiving is not something you do on one particular day in the year; but that everyday, every time, and in every situation, there is a Thanksgiving.
There is always something we can give thanks for. Let’s look for all that God has done; and give thanks.
Charles Wesley wrote 18 stanzas of a hymn, just to thank God for his salvation experience.
David thanked God for His righteous judgements by writing Psalm 9.
How are you thanking God? If you are reading this, then you’ve been spared death from Covid-19. If you cannot remember anything, at least remember you have been spared death from Covid-19, which killed 1.23 million people globally!
It is something to thank God for.
The beautiful hymn from Charles Wesley is as great as the number of tunes it has. Please find some of them below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e475ww32Jg
HymnThe Grace Levites – ‘O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing’ Congregational Hymn
Please sing “O for a thousand tongues to sing” with me.
MEMORY VERSE
“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.” (Psalm 9:1)
QUESTIONS
1. Has God done anything for you?
2. Do you know that the least you can do is to praise Him for His goodness, and spread the word about His marvelous works?
PRAYER TIP
Lord of all grace and Father of all mercies, I am grateful for Your mercies and marvelous works!
Written by:
BENNY MALM
For:
TESTIMONY DEVOTIONAL
CREDITS
1. “O For A thousand tongues”, HYMNARY.ORG (https://hymnary.org/)
URGENT CALL
By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!
But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
Believers’ Prayer – Testimony Devotional
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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