“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy” Psalm 99:1-3. In this passage of Scripture, David is putting into words just how mighty our God is and how as a mighty and sovereign God, he needs to be given all of our hearts. Audrey Assad, American singer-songwriter and contemporary Christian music artist, lead worship for the Ouachita students last night in Jones Performing Arts Center. Students this week are given the option on whether or not to attend seminars from guest lecturers, talks from our beloved professors, and worshipping God through song.
“I thought it was fantastic,” William Jackson, sophomore Christian studies major from Rockwall, Texas said. “Audrey did a fantastic job of bringing the student body to the throne room.”
Throughout the corporate worship setting, Assad not only worshipped God through leading the student body in song but also opened up about her recent study of Psalms 23 and how this passage is one of her go to Bible passages to connect with the Lord.
“Audrey defined humility as thinking rightly about how God created you,” Jackson said. “I think it’s a beautiful reminder that God calls us to be confident in how he made us. When we tear ourselves down we are telling God he made a mistake.”
Not only did Assad play some of the worship songs that we recognize and have known most of our lives but also some of her own. These songs were soaked in theology and had students glorifying and praising God not through words but through their hearts.
“I really enjoyed hearing all of these individual students praise God,” Jackson said. “It always gives me chills listening to corporate worship.”
At the end of the night, the entire JPAC auditorium was on their feet singing with all their might to the Lord with the hymn, “I Love You, Lord.”
“It was very evident that she was knowledgeable about the Word and it was great seeing how Scripture saturated her worship,” Jackson said. “The lesson I learned is that being intimate with the Bible facilitates intimacy with God in worship and in everyday life.”
The student body of Ouachita walked into JPAC with curious hearts and left with ones filled with encouragement and a hunger to dwell in God’s presence.
Psalms 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.”
