Mouths and Hands

Scripture:

Psa. 144:9      ¶ I will sing a new song to you, O God;
        upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
Psa. 144:10     the one who gives victory to kings,
        who rescues his servant David.
Psa. 144:11     Rescue me from the cruel sword,
        and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
    whose mouths speak lies,
        and whose right hands are false.

Observation:

It is from the Psalmist that we learn much about prayer.  God is good and faithful and as we enter into our time of prayer with him we begin by singing songs of praise.  Our praises rise up from the new things that God continually is doing in our lives and in this world.  He is alive and active and engaged in every part of our being.  Therefore I want to sing my praises to him with my lips and yet that is not enough -- I want to praise him with my hands as I play an instrument to him.  Everything that I am is overwhelmed with praise and worship of my King.  My King is my rescuer from those who want to come against us use the same instruments made to praise to wield their blows.  Instead of mouths filled with praise, they are filled with lies and instead of hands used in worship of God, they are raised in making oaths or commitments which prove to be false.
 
Application:

First of all we must realize that our time of prayer must begin with a new song -- a time of praise and worship to the Lord.  This must be wholehearted worship of him -- praising him with our lips, but also with our hands, and ultimately with our whole being.  It means that our daily lives ought to be a new song of praise to God.  Whether we are working or playing -- all should give glory to God.  Nothing should be held back from him and we should look and recognize the hand of God in all that we say and do.  He is the King -- the one who rescues and sustains us in all that we face in this life.

Second, we must also note that it is our mouths and our hands that can do irreparable damage.  When mouths begin to speak lies they can be more destructive than weapons hewn with human hands.  Rumors and innuendos are hard to kill.  They exist far into the future and can seldom be completely destroyed.  In today's day and age the use of social media -- the combination of the hands and the mouth -- become almost lethal when people are willing to write things without regard to the personal damage which may be inflicted upon the one about whom they are speaking. 

It is time for us to consecrate our hands and our mouths in faithful praise and service to God.  There cannot be one in submission to God without the other.  If we truly love God and are praising him on Sunday mornings in church -- then our hands must be praising him in service throughout the week.  The connection between our mouths and our hands is complete and total surrender to God that is expressed in an overflow of love, praise and service. 

Prayer:

Lord, may my life be to you a new song today.  Amen.