Last Sunday After Epiphany
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
The mighty one, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun
to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above and to the earth,
that he may judge his people:
"Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. Selah
Alternate Image
The composer stands to direct a mighty choir. She raises her
hands and smiles toward the first section of the choir. On her
downbeat they thunder, "Almighty God!" The second choir joins the
first and bombastically sings, "Magnificent Lord!" The third
choir fuses with the first two in tumultuous sound singing,
"Omnipotent Sovereign!" The grand choir sings with all their
combined force about the power and majesty, the omnipotence and
omniscience, the greatness and wondrousness of God. As you watch
and listen to the great chorus suddenly you are swept up in the
air. The choir grows smaller in your eye, the ground sound
diminishes to a whisper. As you rush away toward the heavens and
the earth appears only as a speck, you begin to see the scope of
God's creation; it
overwhelms you. Just as suddenly you are brought back to the
amphitheater where the choir sings. In their great and glorious
singing you realize it is only a tiny symbol about which they
sing. God sings through creation and the great choir is mute.
Reflection
Our minds cannot approach understanding the greatness of our
God. All our attempts to describe God are futile and almost
blasphemous in the attempt. Yet we must try to understand. God
knows that and comes to us. He comes down to our level, eye to
eye, so we can understand him better. And in doing so we become
greater. We are the people God has chosen to be with in covenant.
God comes to us offering grace and forgiveness, moving us to
repentance. As God's forgiveness fills our hearts, our lives
change, our vision is greater, our purpose is sure. Secure in our
reason for being we become a tiny but indispensable part of God's
choir, singing with joy about God's passion.
speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun
to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above and to the earth,
that he may judge his people:
"Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. Selah
Alternate Image
The composer stands to direct a mighty choir. She raises her
hands and smiles toward the first section of the choir. On her
downbeat they thunder, "Almighty God!" The second choir joins the
first and bombastically sings, "Magnificent Lord!" The third
choir fuses with the first two in tumultuous sound singing,
"Omnipotent Sovereign!" The grand choir sings with all their
combined force about the power and majesty, the omnipotence and
omniscience, the greatness and wondrousness of God. As you watch
and listen to the great chorus suddenly you are swept up in the
air. The choir grows smaller in your eye, the ground sound
diminishes to a whisper. As you rush away toward the heavens and
the earth appears only as a speck, you begin to see the scope of
God's creation; it
overwhelms you. Just as suddenly you are brought back to the
amphitheater where the choir sings. In their great and glorious
singing you realize it is only a tiny symbol about which they
sing. God sings through creation and the great choir is mute.
Reflection
Our minds cannot approach understanding the greatness of our
God. All our attempts to describe God are futile and almost
blasphemous in the attempt. Yet we must try to understand. God
knows that and comes to us. He comes down to our level, eye to
eye, so we can understand him better. And in doing so we become
greater. We are the people God has chosen to be with in covenant.
God comes to us offering grace and forgiveness, moving us to
repentance. As God's forgiveness fills our hearts, our lives
change, our vision is greater, our purpose is sure. Secure in our
reason for being we become a tiny but indispensable part of God's
choir, singing with joy about God's passion.
