The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you, His angels, you mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His ministers who do His will! Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul! (Verses 19-22)
Every country has its Obama, Putin, Castro, Queen Elizabeth or Assad. Rulers freely chosen or those who've taken over in tyranny. Somebody heads us up wherever we live. A certain eminence accompanies their reign. The position brings, to a greater or lesser degree, weightiness. Glory. CEO's are paid more than hourly employees. Bosses have more power than the ones they manage. And, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Greater honor for the good; deeper ignominy for the bad. It's interesting to me that we all recognize this until it comes to God. I've heard people castigate our God for seeking glory for Himself. For wanting us to praise Him--creating us for that purpose. The irony, of course, is that since He has dominion over all things, He doesn't need for us to honor Him. It doesn't massage His ego as it does the pride of men and women. Our God simply deserves all honor, glory and praise because He is! The Lord of all--every dominion, kingdom, republic, monarchy--rules all. Unquestionably, eternally, benevolently. All heads of state, all lowly servants, will answer only to Him. Do answer only to Him whether acknowledged or not.
Around the mighty throne are living beings and angels. Praising Him day and night. When God speaks to the angels, they listen to His words and obey His commands. Often on our behalf. Hebrews says "they are sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation (Chapter 1)." In our world today, angels move among us, seen and unseen, doing what Jesus tells them to. Protecting or announcing, serving or directing, they ascend and descend at any given moment from the throne room to us. Straight from His presence into our chaos. They know what we don't. They see what we can't, yet. How thrilling to serve the Almighty One this way. We are made a little lower than they, yet our salvation is something they will never experience. The plan of God--the mystery of the ages--to tabernacle in mankind was revealed to the angels in the death and resurrection of Christ. God didn't tell His angels what He was doing beforehand (Ephesians 3). It was a mystery into which they longed to be included (1 Peter 1). So God didn't necessarily explain to Gabriel the entire plan when the angel was sent to speak with Mary about the baby conceived of the Holy Spirit. But imagine the crackling energy it created in him to finally announce part of it. God born of woman. Both God and man. Trusted enough by the Father to carry the message to Earth. The angels have eyes to see all we will one day marvel at. Our salvation will be central to their praise. O bless our God, you His angels!
How blessed are the armies sent to do battle for Him. Who are assured of victory even before pursuit. The hosts of heaven. Since Earth's foundation, God's hosts have battled for those God loves. Elisha saw them when the king of Syria was after him in Dothan. Surrounded by an army with horses and chariots, Elisha was unafraid. Told his trembling servant, "Those who are with us are more than those against us." God opened the servant's eyes to see a mountain filled with horses and chariots of fire all around them. Then there was Michael, the archangel, whose fight with the princes of darkness who controlled Persia and Greece was revealed to Daniel. Mighty warriors facing off in a realm that controls the event of ours. Yet given the privilege of announcing God's heart to those who wait for an answer from Him. The hosts of God. Revelation 19 describes the armies of heaven following Jesus as He captures the beast, who has gathered the armies of the world to make war against Him at the end of it all. The outcome? The destruction of evil forever. Imagine seeing God the Son hung in shame on a cross on a hill on our tiny planet. Disturbed and curious, outraged and at the ready, to rescue Jesus from the brutality of the men and women their God made. How they must have had to stand their ground, feet firmly planted on heaven's firmament, unmoving, and without command from the Lord of Hosts. Faithful warriors who attend the imperatives of the Almighty God had to stand aside and watch the Lamb of God slaughtered. But what rejoicing there was when Jesus entered heaven and sat down in His rightful place beside the Father. Shouts of victory! Blessings to their God! And a first glimpse into the Godhead's great salvation.
Oceans, plants, streams and stars proclaim the unmatched brilliance of our Lord. The singing of the birds, the movement of Earth upon its axis, the changing tides, hurricanes and earthquakes, sunshine and twilight, mountain heights and volcanoes in the depths of the sea all proclaim the imagination of a Creator too vast to fully comprehend. DNA--a single cell--the blueprint for every function of each individual's design. No two people alike. God's incomprehensible attention to detail. The colors that brush across the sky at sunset, the dew that wets the grass at dawn, the warm hand of a child, the encouragement of a smile...we bless Him with our acknowledgment that He is too wonderful for us. That we acquiesce to the fact we are small and He is great. Not so we grovel. But so we rejoice that a personality so far beyond our grasp chooses to engage with our humanity because He loves us. God wants us to marvel at and bless Him. To bask in the glory Jesus died to share with us. To dwell with our God forever in the splendor He has lavished upon us.
Every country has its Obama, Putin, Castro, Queen Elizabeth or Assad. Rulers freely chosen or those who've taken over in tyranny. Somebody heads us up wherever we live. A certain eminence accompanies their reign. The position brings, to a greater or lesser degree, weightiness. Glory. CEO's are paid more than hourly employees. Bosses have more power than the ones they manage. And, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Greater honor for the good; deeper ignominy for the bad. It's interesting to me that we all recognize this until it comes to God. I've heard people castigate our God for seeking glory for Himself. For wanting us to praise Him--creating us for that purpose. The irony, of course, is that since He has dominion over all things, He doesn't need for us to honor Him. It doesn't massage His ego as it does the pride of men and women. Our God simply deserves all honor, glory and praise because He is! The Lord of all--every dominion, kingdom, republic, monarchy--rules all. Unquestionably, eternally, benevolently. All heads of state, all lowly servants, will answer only to Him. Do answer only to Him whether acknowledged or not.
Around the mighty throne are living beings and angels. Praising Him day and night. When God speaks to the angels, they listen to His words and obey His commands. Often on our behalf. Hebrews says "they are sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation (Chapter 1)." In our world today, angels move among us, seen and unseen, doing what Jesus tells them to. Protecting or announcing, serving or directing, they ascend and descend at any given moment from the throne room to us. Straight from His presence into our chaos. They know what we don't. They see what we can't, yet. How thrilling to serve the Almighty One this way. We are made a little lower than they, yet our salvation is something they will never experience. The plan of God--the mystery of the ages--to tabernacle in mankind was revealed to the angels in the death and resurrection of Christ. God didn't tell His angels what He was doing beforehand (Ephesians 3). It was a mystery into which they longed to be included (1 Peter 1). So God didn't necessarily explain to Gabriel the entire plan when the angel was sent to speak with Mary about the baby conceived of the Holy Spirit. But imagine the crackling energy it created in him to finally announce part of it. God born of woman. Both God and man. Trusted enough by the Father to carry the message to Earth. The angels have eyes to see all we will one day marvel at. Our salvation will be central to their praise. O bless our God, you His angels!
How blessed are the armies sent to do battle for Him. Who are assured of victory even before pursuit. The hosts of heaven. Since Earth's foundation, God's hosts have battled for those God loves. Elisha saw them when the king of Syria was after him in Dothan. Surrounded by an army with horses and chariots, Elisha was unafraid. Told his trembling servant, "Those who are with us are more than those against us." God opened the servant's eyes to see a mountain filled with horses and chariots of fire all around them. Then there was Michael, the archangel, whose fight with the princes of darkness who controlled Persia and Greece was revealed to Daniel. Mighty warriors facing off in a realm that controls the event of ours. Yet given the privilege of announcing God's heart to those who wait for an answer from Him. The hosts of God. Revelation 19 describes the armies of heaven following Jesus as He captures the beast, who has gathered the armies of the world to make war against Him at the end of it all. The outcome? The destruction of evil forever. Imagine seeing God the Son hung in shame on a cross on a hill on our tiny planet. Disturbed and curious, outraged and at the ready, to rescue Jesus from the brutality of the men and women their God made. How they must have had to stand their ground, feet firmly planted on heaven's firmament, unmoving, and without command from the Lord of Hosts. Faithful warriors who attend the imperatives of the Almighty God had to stand aside and watch the Lamb of God slaughtered. But what rejoicing there was when Jesus entered heaven and sat down in His rightful place beside the Father. Shouts of victory! Blessings to their God! And a first glimpse into the Godhead's great salvation.
Oceans, plants, streams and stars proclaim the unmatched brilliance of our Lord. The singing of the birds, the movement of Earth upon its axis, the changing tides, hurricanes and earthquakes, sunshine and twilight, mountain heights and volcanoes in the depths of the sea all proclaim the imagination of a Creator too vast to fully comprehend. DNA--a single cell--the blueprint for every function of each individual's design. No two people alike. God's incomprehensible attention to detail. The colors that brush across the sky at sunset, the dew that wets the grass at dawn, the warm hand of a child, the encouragement of a smile...we bless Him with our acknowledgment that He is too wonderful for us. That we acquiesce to the fact we are small and He is great. Not so we grovel. But so we rejoice that a personality so far beyond our grasp chooses to engage with our humanity because He loves us. God wants us to marvel at and bless Him. To bask in the glory Jesus died to share with us. To dwell with our God forever in the splendor He has lavished upon us.
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