Psalm 65 (The Message)
1-2 Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God,
And also obedience.
You hear the prayer in it all.
2-8 We all arrive at your doorstep sooner
or later, loaded with guilt,
Our sins too much for us—
but you get rid of them once and for all.
Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest
at home in your place!
We expect our fill of good things
in your house, your heavenly manse.
All your salvation wonders
are on display in your trophy room.
Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer,
Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser,
Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash,
of mobs in noisy riot—
Far and wide they'll come to a stop,
they'll stare in awe, in wonder.
Dawn and dusk take turns
calling, "Come and worship."
And also obedience.
You hear the prayer in it all.
2-8 We all arrive at your doorstep sooner
or later, loaded with guilt,
Our sins too much for us—
but you get rid of them once and for all.
Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest
at home in your place!
We expect our fill of good things
in your house, your heavenly manse.
All your salvation wonders
are on display in your trophy room.
Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer,
Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser,
Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash,
of mobs in noisy riot—
Far and wide they'll come to a stop,
they'll stare in awe, in wonder.
Dawn and dusk take turns
calling, "Come and worship."
Sometimes, awe and wonder get in short supply in our lives.
And that's the start of lots of problems.
It's easy to spend entire days only seeing the things which we humans can create: buildings, vehicles, roads, televisions, computers, and on and on.
What we then forget is that we don't really create anything at all.
We are part of creation.
We are created.
Think about the names that Eugene Peterson, author of "The Message" paraphrase uses here in Psalm 65 to translate the original text. They're pretty wonderful:
Earth Tamer
Ocean Pourer
Mountain Maker
Hill Dresser
Muzzler of Sea Storm and Wave Crash
Ocean Pourer
Mountain Maker
Hill Dresser
Muzzler of Sea Storm and Wave Crash
God.
The one who is not us.
A couple of nights ago I watched a documentary on the human heart. It is a wonder of engineering and design. When things work as they should, each and every cardiac cell actually "beats," in rhythm with all the rest.
That life-sustaining heartbeat is not something we can "will" for ourselves. It is the handiwork of a mighty God...and every second that we live is a gift from him.
So...today we will work hard. We will create and produce with the gift of life and intelligence that God has given us.
But let's keep some perspective.
Mountain Maker - Sea Muzzler - Sin Forgiver calls us his children. We are wonderfully dependent on him.
Prayer: Your care for us never fails. You are the God of harvest and bounty, the giver of all good things. We praise your greatness, seen through the works of your hands.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.
Tomorrow's Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8
2 comments:
This just made me think about our lives. We get so caught up in the way of man, jobs, money, gotta do this, gotta do that, that we miss out on what God has painted for us. I love getting away to the mountains or the beach just to get away from all that stuff. It's so peaceful there in that place that God painted and not what man painted.
I never really took the time to think about how we normally are surrounded and perceive only what man has "made." I do like to take the time to look up at the stars, though. My astronomy teacher once said that the stars are one of the only things left that man hasnt got their hands on. They are celestial. Divine.
And when folks go to the mountains, who doesnt watch the sunset or gaze out across the rising and falling landscape?
The names listed of God were awesome, too. All true. All powerful. All comforting.
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