Some people are like the swan, which was said to sing only once in its life, just before it dies. Many of God’s downhearted children seem to live under a cloud their whole lives, but they get their "swan song" before they die. Their life may have been filled with troubles, but as it nears the end and

touches the "white foam of the sea," there comes a glimmer of light in its waters. So, beloved, even if we have been weighed down by life’s burdens, when we reach the end, we will sing sweet songs.

The old creation has its sunshine and flowers, its lowing cattle and bleating sheep, its larks soaring into the sky and nightingales singing in the night, its rivers laughing and its waves clapping their hands. Should the new creation of grace offer any

less joyful worship to God, who is our greatest joy? No, rather, let us come into His presence with thanksgiving and show our joy in Him with songs of praise.