September 30th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

God-resembling Praises

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Almighty Lord, to You the past, present, and future are as one. How great You are, Lord of time!

Read Psalm 147:1-20

[1] Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! [2] The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. [3] He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. [4] He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. [5] Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. [6] The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. [7] Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. [8] He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. [9] He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. [10] His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; [11] the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. [12] Extol the LORD, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion. [13] He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. [14] He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. [15] He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. [16] He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. [17] He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? [18] He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. [19] He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. [20] He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

Name any fears or preoccupations that may distract you today, hampering your freedom to wait for God in stillness, hope and worship.

Think Further

Tomorrow we shall begin a new week. We shall move on to new things Jesus has planned for us. Behind us are the achievements and hardships of many excursions in obedience, so today is a day for rest. Our psalm invites us just to be, enveloped as we are by God’s faithfulness as seen in creation (4,8,9,15-18) and throughout history (2,5,6,13,19,20). Today we are rallied to extravagant praise and worship in the climactic final theme of the Psalter (1,7,12; c.f. 146:10; 148:1; 149:1; 150:6)—though these calls are similar in character to the beatitudes declared at the very beginning of the Psalter (1:1,2; 2:12). Today’s song, like the Psalter as a whole, reminds us to stop once again along our journey of faith, to recognize and receive (19) the promise of God’s all-encompassing gift of salvation: release from guilt and sin, and forgiveness for whole nations (11), healing (3), protection (6), political justice (13) and economic peace and prosperity (14). What a truly refreshing and renewing psalm, empowering us through praise to resemble the One we worship!

In contrast with the God-orientated worship of the Psalms, affluent churches can too easily slip into a self-grounded posture (10), exchanging contentment in God’s provision and radical, sacrificial obedience (11) for programs, technologies or paradigms that appear to offer an identity or guarantee success. Self-serving designs that can lead to injustice are scattered throughout post-modernity’s globalized economy. We dare not forget how God responds to those who use worship for their own interests (6; Amos 5:23, 24).

Apply

Sundays are practice days for entering God’s rest. Remember God’s cosmic history of grace (15-20) and use it to petition the Holy Spirit for his gift of awe as you worship.

Closing prayer

Father, may this Sunday be a day of rest and refreshing for me. May worship re-energize me spiritually. May my priorities be brought in line with Your will.

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