Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and the Psalm.

For a video meditation on today’s Psalm created three years ago, Tap here.

I remember a delightful evening many years ago, walking with some dear brothers on the lovely grounds of the former novitiate of St. Andrew-on-Hudson in Hyde Park, New York. (It’s now the Culinary Institute of America.) We asked ourselves, “Why do we only applaud when someone performs? Why don’t we clap for God’s beautiful creation … like that tree over there?” We began to applaud the tree, turning to other ones whose beauty was revealed to us the more we clapped. There was a simple, clear joy in our abandon.

For our Jewish ancestors, clapping the hands for the Lord’s victory over enemies was as spontaneous as our society’s standing ovation after a great performance, or during a ticker-tape parade of heroes on Broadway in New York City.

Do not allow secular settings to be the only ones for applause—especially since clapping first began with the sacred. Applaud God in all manifestations of the divine in creation.

Psalm 47

What are Bible Breaths? Learn More
Example: All you nations, clap your hands. v. 1

We continue to follow the Psalms in numerical order.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information