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.
Originally posted in August 2014. I first learned this hymn after reading the reference to it in Oswald Chambers' biography (see the footnote). May the Lord use this to uplift you and to lift your eyes to Him. I to the hills will lift mine eyes
from whence doth come mine aid. My safety cometh from the Lord, who heav'n and earth hath made. Thy foot He'll not let slide, nor will He slumber that thee keeps. Behold, He that keeps Israel, He slumbers not, nor sleeps. The Lord thee keeps, the Lord thy shade on thy right hand doth stay: The moon by night thee shall not smite, nor yet the sun by day. The Lord shall keep thy soul; He shall preserve thee from all ill Henceforth thy going out and in God keep for ever will. Psalm 121, from the Scottish Psalter Sung here by an untrained, unnamed Scottish congregation (guests at the wedding of Jonathan and Mairi Keddie, including one very wee one) _____________________________________ Audio file courtesy of Psalm Singing Online Lyrics found on page 10 of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God by David McCasland (This hymn was sung at Oswald Chambers' funeral in Cairo on November 16, 1917.) At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said the most outrageous thing (Matthew 5:48):
"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Startling as this is, the religious experts should not have been astonished, since it's completely consistent with what God said to Abram: "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless." (Genesis 17:1) Since Abram's first encounter with God many years earlier, he has made a number of missteps. Nevertheless, God unveils here the plan for His eternal covenant. This is where Abram is given his new name, Abraham, and it's also where God first refers to Himself by a name: El Shaddai, translated in many versions as "God Almighty." I love that this is the first name God reveals for Himself. It's a huge "umbrella" term that speaks of the Lord's all-encompassing might, nurture, protection, and care, and of His unique power to bring growth and life. The NASB places a comma in "Walk before Me, and be blameless." This is conventional English punctuation, separating two independent clauses that are linked by a conjunction, i.e. Walk before Me + and + be blameless. But although these are separate clauses grammatically, they are not two independent thoughts. When you look at them as a unit, you see the most amazing thing. This is the core message of the Bible: "Walk in unity with Me in My blamelessness, in My integrity, in My wholeness, in My perfection, in My holiness." "Perfect" in Jesus' statement "be perfect" is the same word as "blameless" in God's "be blameless" to Abram. Upon closer inspection, this thought is woven into the Bible everywhere -- not usually in these exact words, but up and down and back and forth throughout scripture, anywhere we are told to revere God, to look to Him alone, to walk in integrity (or righteousness or humility or justice), to love God and others. We cannot do these things apart from His grace and power, but we also have to step in --"walk before Me" -- and keep going. He will not force us. When Jesus called upon people to be perfect, He was revealing the sweet secret of God's ultimate plan: Himself. Without Christ's atoning death on our behalf, all we can do is strive, because everything we need in order to "walk before God and be blameless" (one unified thought) is in Him... it is Him. "The same thing happens in an agony as happens when you suddenly open your door and window during a hurricane; the wind disarranges everything. It plays havoc, and knocks things into confusion, but also brings a totally new circulation of air; and very often the man who has been knocked around by an agony begins to form a new mind, and is better able to appreciate the New Testament view of the Cross of Jesus Christ."
Oswald Chambers, The Shadow of an Agony Originally posted September 2, 2014: _______________________________________________________ For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden. But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year. Deuteronomy 11:10-11 I will leave this almost without comment. It's a picture -- Cease striving and know that He is God.
He is the land; He is also the rain that waters the land. I think the idea is to plunge in and drink, even when there appears to be no rain in sight. A quotation from Andrew Murray (1828-1917), South African pastor, writer, and revivalist:
_____________________________________________ In time of trouble say: First ― He brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that I will rest. Next ― He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child. Then ― He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last ― In His good time He can bring me out again ― how and when He knows. Say: I am here ― 1. By God’s appointment. 2. In His keeping. 3. Under His training. 4. For His time. _____________________________________________ As quoted in Andrew Murray: The Authorized Biography, by Leona Choy (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2004) Tonight I began listening again to the audio series "Abraham: Living by Faith on a Rocky Road," from the Living Truth sermon archive. One passage seemed particularly important to share. It's about letting God take you on a journey.
"Indwelling" by Thomas Edward Brown (1830-97) (quoted by Oswald Chambers in Baffled to Fight Better, a study on the book of Job)
Excerpts from My Utmost for His Highest (classic), April 28
"What You Will Get" Thy life will I give thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. — Jeremiah 45:5 "This is the unshakable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him – 'I will give thee thy life.' What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. 'Thy life for a prey' means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life, nothing can harm it. ...Are you prepared to let God take you into union with Himself, and pay no more attention to what you call the great things? Are you prepared to abandon entirely and let go? The test of abandonment is in refusing to say – 'Well, what about this?'... Immediately [as soon as] you allow – What about this? – it means you have not abandoned, you do not really trust God. Immediately you do abandon, you think no more about what God is going to do. Abandon means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions. If you abandon entirely to God, He says at once, 'Thy life will I give thee for a prey.' ...When you do get through to abandonment to God, you will be the most surprised and delighted creature on earth; God has got you absolutely and has given you your life. If you are not there, it is either because of disobedience or a refusal to be simple enough." It's time for a replay of this song. A very beautiful reminder.
(There may be a short ad before the video -- sorry.) * YouTube video "Be Still My Soul" Words by Katharine von Schlegel (1697-c.1768) Music ("Finlandia") by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) Performed here by the wonderful UK boys' choir Libera Story behind the hymn here
I will leave this almost without comment. It's a picture -- Cease striving and know that He is God.
He is the land; He is also the rain that waters the land. I think the idea is to plunge in and drink, even when there appears to be no rain in sight. I to the hills will lift mine eyes
from whence doth come mine aid. My safety cometh from the Lord, who heav'n and earth hath made. Thy foot He'll not let slide, nor will He slumber that thee keeps. Behold, He that keeps Israel, He slumbers not, nor sleeps. The Lord thee keeps, the Lord thy shade on thy right hand doth stay: The moon by night thee shall not smite, nor yet the sun by day. The Lord shall keep thy soul; He shall preserve thee from all ill Henceforth thy going out and in God keep for ever will. Psalm 121, from the Scottish Psalter Sung here by an untrained, unnamed Scottish congregation (guests at the wedding of Jonathan and Mairi Keddie, including one very wee one) _____________________________________ Audio file courtesy of Psalm Singing Online Lyrics found on page 10 of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God by David McCasland (This hymn was sung at Oswald Chambers' funeral in Cairo on November 16, 1917.) I'm finally coming to the understanding that the Christian life is truly an exchanged life: a life lived in a borrowed body. Jesus was given my body as His own when I became His, to dwell in it and continue His work on earth. So, He's not borrowing my body, I'm borrowing His.
Edited to add: and yes, I realize this is a mysterious and somewhat disconcerting thought. It will take a while to get used to. But once I begin acting as though I know He has the sole deed to this "property," and that He in return has given me Himself and all that this indescribable gift encompasses, my response will be transformed. "Patience is more than endurance. A saint’s life is in the hands of God
like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says – 'I cannot stand any more.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God’s hands." ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (classic), May 8 Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19 |
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 |