Count, and Recount

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High...

For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment…

The Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Be gracious to me, O Lord!..
   that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.” Psalm 9:1-2,4,7-13a,14

“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!..
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered…
He remembers his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.” Psalm 105:1-2,5,8

Nature, nations, history- all are in God’s hands to hold and manage with might, omnipotence, and perfect knowledge. Justice, personal guidance, protection, consolation, and blessing- all are His to create and disseminate in love and grace, with wisdom and at His bidding. Were we to count His amazing deeds, we could not approach the sum of them! (Psalm 104:1-24; John 21:25)

But like the psalmist, we can count, and recount, God’s wonders to His praise. Each work is distinct, each attribute adds to His multi-faceted beauty, each deed reflects His glory, and every one we voice lifts high His renown in our hearts and for a world desperate for Him. How will we begin to count? And how often repeat the refrain?

Use the alphabet in prayer of attributes: ‘You are awesome, beautiful, compassionate, divine, excellent, faithful, gracious, holy, immutable, just, kind, loving, merciful, near, omnipresent, pure’… Count, and recount!

Use the alphabet in praise of His deeds: ‘You atoned for my sins, bless bountifully, create from nothing, do all things well, energize the flagging, and forgive all my sins… Count, and recount!

Recite a psalm… Count, and recount! (Psalm 103)

List and tell of God’s faithfulness and lovingkindness through a chronological history of your own life, the years of a child, marriage, or family, education, career, moves… Count, and recount!

Go deeper in ongoing communion throughout your hours: I am awake; I breathe; my mind thinks; He’s given senses to take in the colors of sunrise and painted canoes, the softness of cotton, the sounds of birds, music that moves the soul to tears; rapturous delight at birds wing across the sky; a mouth that sings…. Count, and recount!

Lord on high, may I continually meditate on, marvel, and sing of Your wonderful deeds. May my recounting bring joy to those who hear, and glory to Your majestic name. (Psalm 104:30-34)