Friday, September 6, 2019

In Every Storm There is Portent and Promise


Worship in WORD

  Psalm 29                          A psalm of David.

29 Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.

NIV (’84)
  Psalm 29                              A psalm of David.

29 1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon's mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, "Glory!"
10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.
, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved_.
Psalm 29                              A Psalm of David.

29 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

KJV
 Psalm 29                   Ascribe to the Lord  Glory
                                             A Psalm of David.

29 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

ESV

I. Splendor – vv. 1-2
II. Storm – vv. 3-9
III. Sovereignty – v. 10
IV. Stillness – v. 11

Sovereignty
Just as holiness may be emphasized in v. 2 but extends throughout the psalm, so sovereignty may be underscored here in verse 10 yet pervades throughout Psalm 29. In verses 1-2, we are exhorted to recognize, revere, and render praise to the LORD of strength and glory. In verses 3-9, the strength of His glory is demonstrated. In verse 10, the glory of His strength is declared.  
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
      the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. ESV

Verse 10 is the pinnacle point of verses 3-9 and the lynchpin that connects verse 11 with the rest of the psalm. As the torrents of rain plummet and flood the land, David is reminded of the Noahic flood in which the LORD judged the wicked (vs. 3-9) and saved the righteous (v 10). In fact, the word for flood here is only used one other place in the Scriptures. It is the same word used in chapters 6 – 11 of Genisis in reference to the Great Flood.
As Sovereign King, the LORD sits on His throne to dispense judgment and blessing. In the storm and the flood, He metes out punishment and bestows peace. He acts with fury towards the unrighteous and shows favor to the righteous. His purpose may also be to castigate and chastise His children and warn and woo the wicked. Sometimes it is to train us to trust Him.
In every storm, there is the portent of judgment and the promise of the rainbow. God rules over all storms, whether they be weather, famine, pestilence, war. But He places boundaries on them and promises to His creation not to destroy again by the flood. But this should not lead to complacency, as if we just weather the storms because He will not ultimately destroy us.
On the contrary, they point to the massive future judgment to come. One that involves the time of Christ’s return, which will bring all the above, and the fire of God as well. Fallen man does not see this and even scoffs at this.
However, from 2 Peter, we learn this truth:

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting    anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:1-10 NIV

To which the people of God are exhorted:

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
2 Peter 3:11-13 NIV

And promised:

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.2 Peter 3:13 TNIV

And encouraged:

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.2 Peter 3:14-18a NIV

To which all God’s people say:

To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.2 Peter 3:18 NASB

     Behold our God

His ways are inscrutable, 
His power immeasurable,
His glory inextinguishable,
His holiness impeccable,
His essence incomprehensible,
His being immutable,

His grace irresistible,
His love indefectible.

Invitation: I ended in doxology, but not all may enter this experience. Only those who are justified by faith in Christ (Romans 3:21-26) and look forward to His coming again (2 Timothy 4:8; Philippians 3:20). Who by His grace live holy lives in anticipation of the new heavens and earth where only righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). 
Come wandering believing pilgrim return to the path of righteousness from “By-path Meadow”* upon which you sought a shortcut and ease from the storms of life. Have you not found that way even more arduous and futile?
Come, wayward unbeliever, hopeless and stuck in the muck and mire on the broad path that leads to destruction. Come find the narrow road of life that leads to the new heavens and earth (Matthew 7:13-14; Revelations 21).



Worship in Witness:

Several journal entries back I said I had written down two things I had learned recently from the Lord. I have already shared one. I will share the other one now since I finally found where I had written it down (ironically, I had forgotten where I recorded the incident!).

I have a ritual of weighing myself before I take my daily shower. For some reason that escapes me now, the scale was lying on the carpet in front of the entrance to the bathroom. When I stepped on it, the digital readout said I was 94 pounds. Well, I knew that wasn’t right. So I picked up the scale and placed it on the linoleum floor of the bathroom. Now it read 162.8 pounds.

As I thought about this, I realized there was a parable embedded in my experience. We, as humans often don’t like to recognize or hear the truth about ourselves. We would rather have that truth be cushioned to make it sound or look better to us. The hard surface of reality is just too much for us.

If I had believed the first weight (heaven forbid), I would not have seen that I needed to lose 2 more pounds to reach the goal I had set for myself. So also, if I fail to allow the Holy Spirit (the hard surface) to reveal by the Word of God (the scale) the truth to me, then I will not see and know where I am at and where I need to go – what I need to lose in order to gain what I truly need.

Storms in our lives are what God may use to rip apart and remove the cushions we have set in place to protect us from feeling the force of the reality we face. Like a whirlwind, God comes in and in love demolishes the little oases (to change the metaphor) we have fled to for shelter from the truth. If we step into His storm, He promises strength and peace.

Worship in Song:  The Water (Meant for Me) by I AM THEY featuring the words of David Leonard

This far, He has held us
Through the waters as they crash against
This far, He is with us, He is for us

Through the stormy depths
I will soar on wings like eagles
O God, You've carried me
This far, this far

There is power, victory
Hope for the broken-hearted
Healing meant for me
There is goodness, justice
Rest for the weak and weary
Love that's meant for me

This far, He has lead us
Through the darkness to the light of day
This far, He has shown us
Love and mercy and unfailing grace
When my hope is lost in the shadows
This promise, You have made
It's not far, not far

There is power, victory
Hope for the broken-hearted
Healing meant for me
There is goodness, justice
Rest for the weak and weary
Love that's meant for me

When the water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna save us
The water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna rescue us
When the water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna save us
The water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna rescue us
When the water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna save us
The water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna rescue us

There is power, victory
Hope for the broken-hearted
Healing meant for me
There is goodness, justice
Rest for the weak and weary
Love that's meant for me

When the water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna, He's gonna save us
The water, the water, the water is crashing over
He's gonna rescue us.

Writer(s): DAVID LEONARD, ADAM PALMER, ABBIE PARKER



A Closing Word in Prayer

Lord,
Let me live the life I don't own (1 Cor. 6:20)
In the strength that I don't have (2 Cor. 12:9-10; 1 Peter 4:11)
With the wisdom that I don’t possess (Eph. 1:17; James 1:5)
In the knowledge, I don't know (Col. 1:9)
With a love that I don't desire (Rom. 5:5; 1 Jn 4:7-8)
In grace, I don't deserve (Rom. 3:23-24, 5:6-17)
With faith, I don't live (2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:20)
In holiness, I don't pursue (Heb. 12:14)
With joy, I don’t produce (Gal. 5:22)
In peace, I don’t understand (Phil. 4:7)

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