Celebration and Praise

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Celebration and Praise

To celebrate
To praise
 
To celebrate a personality behind the universe
To praise the exact, extravagant, exotic wonder of that universe
 
To celebrate a purposeful creation
To praise the beauty of that unfolding
 
To celebrate the divine origin of humankind
To praise the excellent diversity of that humanity
 
To celebrate a Holy Word which speaks a Holy Way
To praise the excessive love that guides our steps
 
To celebrate a God who becomes a man
To praise the compassionate life of that Jesus who liberates and saves
 
To celebrate a cruel death?
To praise that love!
 
To celebrate the defeat of death by love
To celebrate the rebirth of hope
To celebrate the Spirit's wild irruption
 
To praise a God extravagant and excellent
and far beyond
the writ of human words

Hymn of Praise for a Solitary Morning in the Welsh Hills

Praise!  Do not stint
Love!  Do not limit
Worship of the Gorgeous Spirit!
By dint of joy
Never cease to celebrate
The day which brings the light to play!
Come holy creatures dance with me
In adoration be made free!

Praise Song

And God made known the Name in all the earth
The Name of the Creator
The Name of the Sustainer
The Name of the Beginning and the End
 
And every flower bloomed its praise
And every mountain raised its praise
And every river gushed its praise
And great was the praising of the booming bittern
 
And great was the praising of the twittering tit
And intricate was the praising of the spinning spider
And every creature croaked its praise
And every plant and every rock sang its silent song of praise
 
And man emerging raised his head
And every woman gazed
On the cacophony of praise
And knew in their gut the Nameless Name, the Silent God
 
Who was the Silence behind the praising
Who was the meaning
Who was the feeling
Deep in their belly called Love
 
Who began it
And sang it
And called it into life
And never asked but received the praise
 
For in this way the Earth is whole
Hangs together
Holds
And becomes a home for human life

Soul music

Sing to the Lord a new song
Let everything that has life, praise the Lord
 
Mighty baritones
and soaring sopranos
Husky jazz divas
and screeching rock vocals
Mongolian throat singers
and Gregorian chant
 
Let everything that has life, praise the Lord
 
Solo violinists
and cascades of strings
Tiny piccolos
and blaring trumpets
The wailing sax
and the weird theremin
 
Let everything that has life, praise the Lord
 
Synthesizers
and Hammond organs
Electric pickups
and drum machines
Computer code
and pre-recorded tape
 
Let everything that has life, praise the Lord
 
Singing in the bath
and a child's rhyme
A wheezy hymn
and a happy jingle
The blackbird's song
and the raven's cry
 
Let everything that has life, praise the Lord

Thankfulness for the world

  For the glory of this world
For its beauty all unfurled
 
For swallows in the air
For bodies stripped and bare
For the kindness of tender care
For the spark to risk and dare
For life that's free and full and fair
For the sun in bright and dazzling glare
For gracefulness of field-run hare
For mighty grizzly in his lair
For leaping stallion and mare
For juice of autumn pear
For all things hidden, secret, rare
For new-weave cloth without a tear
For everything and everywhere
 
For the beauty
For the glory
Oh God, a humble, thankful prayer

Worship

To our words, God of the prophets, give fire
To our music, God of the singing, give beauty
To our prayers, God of the wisdom, give love
To our silence, God of the listening , give stillness