Psalm 33
רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים, בַּיהוָה; לַיְשָׁרִים, נָאוָה תְהִלָּה
English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio
Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Today, listening to the Scriptures is a good thing. Caroline Holland in Notebooks of a Spinster Lady, 1919. Holland attests Queen Victoria said, "We are not amused." And of course, Queen Victoria was talking to some lout who had offended all the ladies at the Court. She actually was a better sort than we give her credit for being.
Listening to the Scripture today gives us a different feeling. A collective feeling. People joined together to praise Him.
And of course the LORD is way above us in all respects. So, what would the Big Bang have sounded like. Perhaps it is where the idea of Thor's hammer comes from. Now is it sacrilegious to think of a lesser god? No. The Scripture refers to sons from heaven having children with the sons of men. So many wonders and mysteries. Powers and principalities. Wonder stretches us. As we stay rooted and grounded in God, soaking in the love of Jesus Christ the LORD.
As I listened to the Psalm today, it reminded me of the Big Bang Theory. As a 4-ish year old child, I used to love the cadence of words. And I used to repeat them, savoring the sound. Until. One Day. The word DON"T absolutely exploded within me as violently as an atomic bomb, not even leaving a scorch mark. And it followed with a very gentle. My Child. And boy howdy, never again did I repeat words.
I believe this is what the Big Bang sounded like. Different from Elijah's still, quiet voice. Yet the same. My Child. Except perhaps, except, for the Author, the words would be in small letters. However. It was. Comfort. And where was I standing? In our garage and with bare, summer time, gritty feet. My next thought, as I reached for the garage door handle to the house, was we'd have fun tonight; my godparents were coming over, Bill and Jim with them. But over the next few days, I thought of it -like while eating ice cream. Not a care in the world. I never even felt the need to tell anyone. Huh. It was pretty comfortable. And maybe the LORD wanted me to be interested in all His words and not just getting stuck on one. At the time, I didn't even put thought to it being God. We didn't go to Church much.
What would we, together, compare this to? This memory from 4 decades ago. It would be similar to Exodus 19. What would the Children of Israel have that would have been louder than a trumpet? Not even a gun. They make a difference between the noise and lightning. We might compare the noise to something like a terrific explosion. God told Moses not to let the people through and not to go up the mountain. Instead.
Exodus 20:18
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance.
Exodus 20:19
and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
Remember, with me. This was before God decided to dwell among us. And we'd say, but God is omnipotent. God longs for us. To Love Him. Yet. He Loves us first. And always best.
1 Kings 19:12
And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Let us stand in the gap with Elijah. The gap that is filled by the prayers, the Love and the mediation in Jesus' sacrifice. And say silently or a loud.
Psalm 95:1-7
English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is Good,
for His steadfast Love endures Forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for His steadfast Love endures Forever.
Give Thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His steadfast Love endures Forever!
Blessed are You, LORD GOD. Father and God Almighty. Sharing Your Love with the Generations. In Jesus Christ, Your Son. Our LORD. Amen.
Forever and ever. Aaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeen.
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