"Country Hallelujah"

I get this feeling of relief,

Past the city limit sign,

And where the pavement finally ends,

It happens every time.

I feel the stresses melt away,

Breathe deep the country air,

Hear horses nicker, cattle bawl,

So thankful to be there.

The slower pace and country charm,

They welcome me and say,

Glad to see you made it home,

Before the sun’s last ray.

So saddle up, to the river ride,

See the brilliance sinking down,

Pausing just before it goes,

The sunset steals my frown,

And turns it into sighs of praise,

For this old cowboy way,

And I look up to twilight’s glow,

And this is what I say,

Hallelujah to the Lord,

And thank you from the heart,

And she’ll have supper soon I think,

So guess I’d better start,

Along the path I followed here,

My pony knows the way,

A-horseback finish to my prayer,

And then the end of day.

She waits for me, I see her smile,

And butterflies still move,

Inside of me, they always will,

And once again to prove,

God gave her to share this life,

This place and blessing true,

Out past where the pavement ends,

And my hallelujah, too.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:5 (NAS)

The last verse of the last psalm is like a divinely-inspired exclamation point! The Psalmist says, in effect, that if we’re breathing we should be praising. And praising the Lord should be just as normal as inhaling and exhaling. We do it unconsciously because it’s necessary to our survival and health. When we stop breathing we die, and when we stop praising we do the same spiritually. We are designed and destined to praise the Lord forever and to practice every step of the way till heaven begins. Praise the Lord!

Lord, help us to praise You in all the places that make us thankful and even those that don't, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.