Ascribe to the Lord, O families of peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come into His courts! Worship the Lord in holy attire! Tremble before Him all the earth! Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established. It shall never be moved. He will judge the people with equity." (Verses 7-10)
I taught high school for several years. As a part of my job, I coached the competitive speaking events such as debate, extemporaneous speaking and interpretive prose and poetry. My team traveled the state of California from October to March every year for four years. I knew these students so well. Talked to them for endless hours. Loved them. But I left teaching to become a business owner and the kids grew up. One of my businesses was a computer testing center that included testing for the nurses' exam. Into the testing center one day walked Charlie. I didn't notice him until he'd completed the test and walked into my office. "Hi, Mrs. Farish!" he said, as if he'd found an old friend.
"Uh...hi." I was completely befuddled. Didn't recognize who was standing before me. Embarrassed because he obviously knew me.
"You don't recognize me, do you?" Charlie said, his face falling at the knowledge.
"Not really."
"Charlie. From Canyon Springs!" He was smiling now. Surely I'd know then.
And I did! So glad to see him. But when I knew this young man before he was a skinny wrestler with red hair and a big grin. Here he was standing before me thirty pounds heavier, hair a bit darker and several years older. We caught up as well as reminisced. I cringed when he left, though. How disappointed he must have been that someone who was supposed to know him so well didn't know him at all. Couldn't recognize him when he walked into a room.
And often we don't recognize our Maker in much the same way. We're supposed to know Him well. Be able to ascribe to Him all the attributes that make Him so magnificent. But for the life of us, we can't think of what He's done for us. Can't remember His face. Maybe we've just been away too long. So the psalmist encourages us to take a few minutes to actually speak out God's attributes. "My God is glorious and mighty!" Say it out loud! Declare it to our circumstances and remind out hearts! "The Lord reigns! King of everything that is everywhere!" Designer of the very world we get so caught up in we can't remember what He looks like. We are to put on our robes of righteousness, purchased for us by the Son Whom we kiss, and with the gifts of our love and obedience in hand, come trembling before God's great omnipotence and glory! Not in fear, but in the reverent knowledge that we present ourselves to the energy and power of creation. The Alpha and Omega. No beginning and no end. Who has forever known us and Whose prescience sets our course as surely as He set the planets in their courses. We would not be slammed to our faces by God's holy wrath, but weak-kneed before Him we succumb to a Presence too large for us to fathom. Too mighty for our weaknesses. Too lofty for our arrogance. Too holy for our filthiness. The God Who established and Who will judge His world deserves our humble adoration.
In our present world, where man is his own master, where wrong is right, and the skies of the world are filled with the smoke of wars, we need to remember, "The Lord reigns!" We only think we have it under control. But it isn't until we go into His courts with the offering of our lives covered in the sacrificial blood of the Lamb that we know the meaning of true power. It is there we are forced to compare ourselves with Him as He allows us to go behind the veil that once obscured God's holy presence. There we bathe in steadfast love and mercy beyond comprehension, for we don't deserve a moment in that Light. The curtain is ripped wide open for us who believe. Bold entrance into the throne room of our Maker. May we go in today and look upon a face we might have trouble remembering because it's been a while. "The world is established and shall not be moved." There is no safer, more glorious, more informed place to live than near the heart of our God Who never changes. Who understands how it will all go down. Bow before Him. Ascribe to Him what is due His name. Glory and strength. He's waiting for us to remember what He looks like.
I taught high school for several years. As a part of my job, I coached the competitive speaking events such as debate, extemporaneous speaking and interpretive prose and poetry. My team traveled the state of California from October to March every year for four years. I knew these students so well. Talked to them for endless hours. Loved them. But I left teaching to become a business owner and the kids grew up. One of my businesses was a computer testing center that included testing for the nurses' exam. Into the testing center one day walked Charlie. I didn't notice him until he'd completed the test and walked into my office. "Hi, Mrs. Farish!" he said, as if he'd found an old friend.
"Uh...hi." I was completely befuddled. Didn't recognize who was standing before me. Embarrassed because he obviously knew me.
"You don't recognize me, do you?" Charlie said, his face falling at the knowledge.
"Not really."
"Charlie. From Canyon Springs!" He was smiling now. Surely I'd know then.
And I did! So glad to see him. But when I knew this young man before he was a skinny wrestler with red hair and a big grin. Here he was standing before me thirty pounds heavier, hair a bit darker and several years older. We caught up as well as reminisced. I cringed when he left, though. How disappointed he must have been that someone who was supposed to know him so well didn't know him at all. Couldn't recognize him when he walked into a room.
And often we don't recognize our Maker in much the same way. We're supposed to know Him well. Be able to ascribe to Him all the attributes that make Him so magnificent. But for the life of us, we can't think of what He's done for us. Can't remember His face. Maybe we've just been away too long. So the psalmist encourages us to take a few minutes to actually speak out God's attributes. "My God is glorious and mighty!" Say it out loud! Declare it to our circumstances and remind out hearts! "The Lord reigns! King of everything that is everywhere!" Designer of the very world we get so caught up in we can't remember what He looks like. We are to put on our robes of righteousness, purchased for us by the Son Whom we kiss, and with the gifts of our love and obedience in hand, come trembling before God's great omnipotence and glory! Not in fear, but in the reverent knowledge that we present ourselves to the energy and power of creation. The Alpha and Omega. No beginning and no end. Who has forever known us and Whose prescience sets our course as surely as He set the planets in their courses. We would not be slammed to our faces by God's holy wrath, but weak-kneed before Him we succumb to a Presence too large for us to fathom. Too mighty for our weaknesses. Too lofty for our arrogance. Too holy for our filthiness. The God Who established and Who will judge His world deserves our humble adoration.
In our present world, where man is his own master, where wrong is right, and the skies of the world are filled with the smoke of wars, we need to remember, "The Lord reigns!" We only think we have it under control. But it isn't until we go into His courts with the offering of our lives covered in the sacrificial blood of the Lamb that we know the meaning of true power. It is there we are forced to compare ourselves with Him as He allows us to go behind the veil that once obscured God's holy presence. There we bathe in steadfast love and mercy beyond comprehension, for we don't deserve a moment in that Light. The curtain is ripped wide open for us who believe. Bold entrance into the throne room of our Maker. May we go in today and look upon a face we might have trouble remembering because it's been a while. "The world is established and shall not be moved." There is no safer, more glorious, more informed place to live than near the heart of our God Who never changes. Who understands how it will all go down. Bow before Him. Ascribe to Him what is due His name. Glory and strength. He's waiting for us to remember what He looks like.
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