Just now, at sunrise, I looked out my window and saw the trees to the west flooded in pink light. Juxtaposed behind this was a wall of deep blue sky. I watched in worship until the pink turned to grey-brown. I thought of yesterday's tragic fire in Paris -- the night-time lights of that famous cathedral were said to be breathtaking. Perhaps they will be again; there are stories Notre Dame holds that only God knows. A person who found a quiet corner to call out to Him there; a worker many centuries ago whose intent each day was to lift God's name with his heart and hands. These things, so precious to God, cannot be snuffed out. All mankind's handiwork will one day be gone. Even the trees will be gone, and He will make all things new. Yet there will never be a time when God's own handiwork will cease its resounding praise. How lovely it is to be part of this handiwork, and to worship Him as He writes His name across the morning sky.
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Our era has a distorted view of melancholy and other expressions of sorrow. We either overindulge in them (no one has ever had things as rough as I do) or we reject nearly all such things as foolish self-pity, a type of weakness that must be set right if we're to be of any use to anyone, including God. Job's friends* were perhaps forerunners of this. Job was honest in his grief, and in asking "Why would God do this to me?" but Job's friends were having none of it. They dumped spiritual "wisdom" on his head until finally God had had enough and demanded, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2). He then proceeded to set them all straight, but it was not Job's anguish that provoked this annoyed response. Scripture is very honest about human emotion; it's often in the midst of deep grief that some of the highest expressions of praise ring out. This is in fact what happened to me. It was powerful grief and fear that brought me to praise, and, through praise, to a renewed and much deeper love for my Lord. There is of course a difference between expressing sadness (or anger, or fear) and bathing in it to the point that we lose track of the other side of the story -- the one God told Job and his friends, which is that God is God; He knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning: we can trust Him. With these things in mind, I'd like to share with you another Psalm from the Scottish psalter. At first this one may seem an even more unlikely reflection for worship than the one I shared with you a few weeks ago on the blog page. Yet part way through, the psalmist shifts perspective to remember what's most important, that God is God and we can trust Him. Like the other recording I posted recently, this is performed by Niall Maclennan (SoundCloud user name Niallags). Unlike the previous recording, though, which I believe was self-harmonized, my ears are telling me there are two voices here. If so, I don't know the other singer's identity, but I am grateful to him and to Niall for this beautiful recording. Psalm 102 (version 2) vv. 9-15 Niall Maclennan, as performed on SoundCloud Text from The Scottish Psalter of 1650 For I have ashes eaten up, To me as if they had been bread; And with my drink I in my cup Of bitter tears a mixture made. Because Thy wrath was not appeas'd, And dreadful indignation, Therefore it was that Thou me rais'd And Thou again didst cast me down. My days are like a shade alway, Which doth declining swiftly pass; And I am withered away, Much like unto the fading grass. But Thou, O Lord, shalt still endure, From change and all mutation free, And to all generations sure Shall Thy remembrance ever be. Thou shalt arise, and mercy yet Thou to mount Sion shalt extend: Her time for favour which was set, Behold, is now come to an end. Thy saints take pleasure in her stones, Her very dust to them is dear. All heathen lands and kingly thrones On earth Thy glorious name shall fear. (Capitalization added to pronouns that refer to God) *I highly recommend Oswald Chambers' excellent commentary on the book of Job -- Baffled to Fight Better -- which is part of the Complete Works of Oswald Chambers, available as a free pdf download from the publisher (Discovery House Publishers); link here.
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All thy sins were laid upon Him, Jesus bore them on the tree;
God, who knew them, laid them on Him, and, believing, thou art free. Joseph Denham Smith (c. 1817-1889) Praise reflection archives
May 2020
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...take root downward and bear fruit upward.
2 Kings 19:30 |