Category Archives: Glory

Breath-taking…

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O vast Rondure, swimming in space,
Covered all over with visible power and beauty,
Alternate light and day and the teeming spiritual darkness,
Unspeakable high processions of sun and moon and countless stars above,
Below, the manifold grass and waters, animals, mountains, trees,
With inscrutable purpose, some hidden prophetic intention,
Now first it seems my thought begins to span thee.

Down from the gardens of Asia descending,
Adam and Eve appear, then their myriad progeny after them,
Wandering, yearning, curious, with restless explorations,
With questionings, baffled, formless, feverish, with never-happy hearts,
With that sad incessant refrain, Wherefore unsatisfied soul? Whither O mocking life?

Ah who shall soothe these feverish children?
Who justify these restless explorations?
Who speak the secret of impassive earth?

Yet soul be sure the first intent remains, and shall be carried out,
Perhaps even now the time has arrived.
After the seas are all crossed,
After the great captains and engineers have accomplished their work,
After the noble inventors,
Finally shall come the poet worthy that name,
The true son of God shall come singing his songs.

(Walt Whitman: extracts from Book XXVI, Passage to India, 1871, as used in Ralph Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony,1910)

Let me exalt you, my God the king, and let me bless your name forevermore. Every day let me bless you, and let me praise your name forevermore.

Great is the Lord and highly praised, and his greatness cannot be fathomed. Let one generation to the next extol your deeds and tell of your mighty acts. Of the grandeur of your glorious majesty and your wondrous acts let me treat.

And the power of your awesome deeds let them say, and your greatness let me recount. The fame of your great goodness they utter, and of your bounty they joyously sing.

Gracious and merciful is the Lord, slow to anger, great in kindness. Good is the Lord to all, and his mercy is over all his creatures..

Your kingship is a kingship for all time, and your dominion for all generations.. The Lord’s praise let my mouth speak, and let all flesh bless his holy name forevermore.

(Ps 145 extracts, R Alter translation)

I am not in the habit of quoting poetry in this blog, but these words by Whitman are very much in my mind just now as they form the text of a piece of music which I am learning and will be performing with a chorus and orchestra later in the year.. The poet is lost in wonder as he ponders the globe which we call earth, aware of the immeasurable vastness which lies beyond our skies and also the unfathomable riches and mysteries which are all around us on our beloved planet. He meditates on the long ages of human existence, marked by struggle and exploration, an unquenchable search for more.. and instead of merely resigning himself to the unanswerable, he speaks a word of hope, of expectation, and points to the coming of the true poet, who will in some undefined way, meet the deepest longings of humankind.

I love this picture of how in the fulness of time, and in fulfilment of an eternal purpose,  God’s son has come to reveal the answer to our deepest need, and that answer is in words of power and beauty, of music and joyous celebration – don’t you thrill to the idea of our Lord as the great singer of songs? Surely the great author and the originator of music will bring with him the most marvellous music, beside which all our greatest composers will look like pale imitations, and we will finally hear for ourselves the songs which are the music of God’s nearer presence and glory!

Even now we hear echoes of the song, since Jesus has come; but its fullest expression awaits his return and remaking of all things.  For the present, we – like psalmist and his companions – sing our best songs when we sing and celebrate our king in all his goodness, and his eternal dominion. So often we feel that words are insufficient to express our wonder and thankfulness, yet when we combine them with music our hunger to worship is satisfied, and we join the praise of all God’s creation which is continually exalting him.

O Thou, transcendant… majestic beyond imagination, let breath be caught, let senses be entranced and worship rise from my heart as I reflect on your power and abundant generosity in creation and above all as I consider my Lord, the true Son of God and the great singer of songs, whose words are the words of life. 

Note: you may like to find and listen to a recording of the 4th movement of Vaughan William’s Sea Symphony, to appreciate the marriage of words and music!

The power of words(and music!)

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Let earth and heaven combine, angels and men agree, to praise in songs divine, the incarnate deity, our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.

He laid his glory by, took form in mortal clay; unseen by human eye, the hidden Godhead lay; infant of days He here became, and bore the mild Immanuel’s name.

He deigns in flesh to appear, widest extremes to join; to bring our vileness near, and make us all divine; and we the life of God shall know, for God is manifest below.

Made perfect by his love, and sanctified by grace, we shall from earth remove, and see His glorious face; then shall His love be fully showed, and we shall be complete in God.

(C Wesley 1707-88)

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High… The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God..”

(Lk 1.30,31&35)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

(Col 1.15-20)

Like many others, the music associated with this season of Advent and the celebration of Jesus’ birth is very precious to me. There are hymns which I have sung all my life, and cherish dearly; there are choral pieces which move me deeply, and there are the seasonal pop songs which have accompanied the festive season for most of my adult life.. Music speaks to us on such a deep level, and yet it is worth pondering the words that go along with the tunes (perhaps not so much for the pop songs though!).

The  hymn with which I began today is not commonly sung at carol services, and you probably won’t hear it on the radio during this month. It has no catchy chorus, or soaring descant and there are no animals, shepherds or wise men – Mary and Joseph make no appearance. BUT it is absolutely all about the incarnation, and the revolutionary mission of our Lord. The writer, Charles Wesley has gifted the church many great hymns, and like them, this  text of this one is incredibly rich. One website lists 32 scripture references across the six verses of this hymn. I am reminded that we can help ourselves so much to learn, understand and grow in faith by singing and meditating on the words of songs and hymns: words which are themselves the product of long pondering by saints – long ago and today. Together, these old and new songs speak nourishing truth, writing the realities of faith across our memories and minds in melodic ink, so that it stays there!

This particular hymn points to the many aspects of the work and glory of Christ; to the marvellous mystery of his mission and his victorious achievement; and to the  fulfilment of God’s plans for redemption. It reminds us of the many passages throughout scripture which reflect truths about God’s Messiah, and which leave us slightly reeling, and aware that we haven’t begun to comprehend the breadth, depth and height of the love of our God!

I am looking forward to singing the Christmas songs again, to listening to the choirs and letting the beauty and power of their art lift my spirit in praise and thanks to the Author of all good things, and above all the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the architect of the great plan of salvation. I hope that as I sing, I will let the words fall fresh on my heart and mind, so that they bless me as they have done before and I am brought to worship before the incarnate infititude, the tiny enormity of God, contracted to a span.. incomprehensibly made man.

Mind expanding..!

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning….In him was life, and that life was the light of men…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.. From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

(Jn 1.1&2,4,14&16)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

(Heb 1.1-4)

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God… For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

(2 Cor 4.4&6)

Don’t you love it when the words on the page seem to jump out at you? When God sets off a firework display in your mind as you read and reflect on what the inspired authors have recorded for us, and can almost feel your brain creaking as it is faced all over again with the sheer enormity of The Almighty Triune God!

I have begun to read the book known as the letter to the Hebrews recently, and in the very first verses of the first chapter, was brought up short: take another look at that passage and just read it slowly to yourself. In a few phrases, the teacher has condensed the gospel, the creation narrative – everything that really matters – and reeled it off as though it were the simplest set of ideas in the world. I love it when the bible does this, crediting me with abilities which I do not possess, to comprehend the incomprehensible and grasp the impenetrable. Why do I love it? Because I am brought to my knees afresh in worship, in humble adoration of my Lord and the Almighty Father by whose will all things are.

Passages like the three which are quoted above are so rich in material for meditation and as prompts to further study as we tease out the connections which they are making, the multitude of echoes raised across the narrative of God’s dealings with his people and the great, revolutionary work of Jesus.  These passages also help us to consider Jesus, focussing on his person, his work and his perfection as God’s appointed one. And it is as we reflect, as we ponder and let these wonderful concepts and pictures enrich our understanding, that our faith is strengthened, and our love for Jesus is deepened.

That’s the wonderful thing about God’s word to us, in the bible and ultimately in the person of Jesus himself, it isn’t just words… It changes us, shapes our minds, transforms our values, and is always fresh with encouragement, challenge and rebuke. We can read it all our lives, and never cease to wonder, to be moved in prayer, confession and repentance, adoration and praise. How right it is to think of God’s word as food, as the crucial nourishment which we need for living; without this food, we starve in ignorance and perish in despair. This food strengthens us and directs us, always providing new things to wrestle with and to train us in living for and with our Saviour.

I don’t need to understand in order to be blessed; I rejoice in the ways that God’s word to me continually shows me my limitations and His endless power, majesty, holiness and love. He is utterly beyond my comprehension, and what a relief that is! In Jesus, we see all that we need to know in order to surrender ourselves in loving dependence and trust to this Heavenly Father – because Jesus IS ‘the exact imprint” and the “radiance of the glory” of God.

Almighty and everlasting God, I worship and praise you today, because I – as your creature – may know you as Father because of your son, my Saviour Jesus. My mind is so small, but I delight to consider him, and to let myself be lost in wonder at his majesty, and his saving work. Let me always be hungry for your word, and ready to have my mind expanded by your glory! For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

A work in progress… completion assured

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In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city – on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me and he took me there. In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.. “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

(Ezek 40.1-4)

Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.. The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites for ever..”

(Ezek 43.1-7)

And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.

(Ezek 48.35)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God..” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

(Rev 21.1,3&5)

The book of the words of the prophet Ezekiel is a challenging read, containing some visions which we find almost impossible to picture, let alone interpret.. It is nonetheless encouraging, closing as it does with a detailed description of a new temple, a new centre of worship of the the Almighty God, where his presence returns to dwell among his restored people. That vision came to encourage a people in exile, a people whose national identity was on the point of vanishing under Babylonian rule.

Because those people were not just any ethnic group, they were the chosen ones, the covenant people of the Almighty God and the objects of his faithful love. They were to play their part in his plan for the salvation of the world, and the inauguration of a new kingdom, and so although in human terms, they had no hope, yet God – through Ezekiel – is speaking to them of a purpose, dignity and identity as his people. There would in time be a restoration, a return to Jerusalem and a pattern of worship would be re-established.. but the return of the glory of the Lord – his presence – remained in the future. Devout Jews looked for this return, this coming of the Lord to his people, to dwell among them, and the writers of the New Testament recognise that Jesus, as God incarnate, was the initial fulfilment of the prophecy.

Ezekiel then speaks to a future restoration which is yet to be completed, to a full indwelling of God with his people. This is what we – as believers in Jesus – have experienced in our part as we live by faith and by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches that as we trust in him, so we become the dwelling place of God. We have been made fit for that purpose through the powerful atoning work of the cross, and – whatever we may feel – the truth is that the global church is now the place where the divine is at home.. We, like the exiled Israelites, have dignity, purpose and identity because we are the object of God’s covenant love. We too, look forward to a day when the full glory of God will dwell with his people and because of Jesus, we can be confident that it will come to pass.

The prophet’s vision is one of perfect communion and intimate connection, of proper worship and pure devotion. Only God himself, whose name and glory his people have defaced and dishonoured, can restore and make this a reality. God is committed to the realisation of this communion, a relationship where his glory will be perfectly seen in all its fulness, and seen as He dwells with us. How marvellous, how far beyond our comprehension this is!

To see this vision, is to worship and bow in awe before unimagined love and power, confessing my own insignificance and unworthiness, yet exulting to know myself chosen to share it!

That you, O God, should be glorified is only right.. But that your glory should be seen by your indwelling of your people is astonishing! Let me grow in understanding of this truth, let it inspire and motivate me to love, obedience and glad-hearted service. O Lord, be glorified in me!

It’s all a bit.. overwhelming!!

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“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”

(Isa 42.1-4)

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.'”…. in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.

(Isa 45.22-25)

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

(Lk 23.44-48)

Embrace the “covenant of vocation” or, rather, be embraced by it as the Creator calls you to a genuine humanness at last, calls and equips you to bear and reflect his image.

Celebrate the revolution that happened once for all when the power of love overcame the love of power. And, in the power of that same love, join in the revolution here and now.

(NT Wright; p 416,The Day the Revolution Began – 2016, SPCK, )

I have just finished reading this book – not that I have done much more than look at the words… my concentration is not good these days, and theology  can be quite challenging. But…. I am so grateful that I persevered, because even though I failed to grasp much of the argument, yet I retain a flavour of the triumphant story which it tells. The author’s skill and expertise in this masterful exposition of the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion has been so helpful, stretching my understanding and I thank God for the gifts which have been put to such glorious use for the building up of the kingdom.

I have glimpsed the greatness of the salvation narrative, been blinded by its light and complexity and yet also compelled by the love which it reveals.  While striving to grasp the theology with my mind, my heart has burned with awe and delight, humbly accepting the truth revealed. It is so much more, so much greater and more glorious than we can begin to imagine, and all part of the great purpose of God since before time began… that we might dwell with and delight in one another, sharing as Creator and beloved creatures in the joy for which we are designed.

I have a sense of so many threads gathering together to create a rich tapestry, like a great carpet unfolding ahead of me as I stumble and endeavour to follow, however lamely, in the way of peace, the way of holiness, the vocation to which I am called and now – by Christ’s triumph – am free to fully live! I am relishing the truth revealed, the fresh understanding of where we are going and why the gospel matters for today as well as for tomorrow.  A fresh vision of mission is revealed – to declare here and now that the world is no longer in bondage, that Jesus has defeated those powers that bind humanity in misery, that true freedom is in him and free to all who will come! The great revolution was launched on Good Friday, and as Jesus’ followers, we are commissioned to spread the word of radical change, the word of hope, that because of him, it is possible to be fully human at last!

As the great revolution is being worked out across the world – in God’s word at work and in our experience of him through the sacraments – may we his people be drawn to worship afresh by the magnitude of His plan, the depth of His love, the steadfastness of His purpose which is being fulfilled hour by hour and heart by heart.

To ease the parting..

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But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”… when you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed… God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body… so it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

(1 Cor 15.35,37&38,42-44,48&49)

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him…. and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

(1Thess 4.13&14,17)

Life is enriched by the people with whom we share it. Each and every single one is equally important in God’s eyes, all of them matter to him and therefore to us. We are made in God’s image to be in relationship, firstly with him and then with one another. Often, we receive God’s gift of love to us through one another; thus also compassion and help, presence and guidance, rebuke and instruction are given from God to his children.

The precious ones, so close that we can’t imagine life without them…

The constant ones, woven closely into our lives and as reliable as the sunrise…

The remote ones, who bring us such joy when we meet – and those meetings are all too rare…

The ones we barely get to know and then have to leave behind, leaving so much unsaid and undiscovered…

The especially gifted, beautiful, able and inspiring ones that we long to know better but can’t…

The ones we haven’t met, but know of – from the past, in the present and the barely glimpsed future…

The words of the scriptures assure all those who trust in God and not in their own goodness, that this longing for connection is not wrong, it is rather an expression of God’s likeness in us. It is part of his great plan of redemption, that all his people should share in his joy by knowing and loving one another. And as those who have been saved through faith in Jesus, we share an amazing future. We can know that we will meet again, never to part, and that when we do, everything will be perfect!

Today I saw a pair of eagles, giving effortless expression of worship, and glorifying God by just being what they are. Their ecstatic soaring was, for me, an illustration of our future, of fearless living with no shadow of imperfection to hold us back, and a supreme contentment in being who and what I am designed to be – fully human, and beloved by God.

God is making all things new, and we are at the centre of his purposes – that we might live with all his people in a perfect world, enjoying it, him and one another as we were always designed to do… with nothing to diminish our joy or inhibit our worship. Our home will be the new earth, where our God dwells with his people as he always planned and laboured through history to achieve.

When I have to part from people now, I don’t need to grieve too much that I may not see them again this side of my mortal body dying… I can rejoice in knowing that we WILL meet and be together again in eternity, sharing the divine life and exalting our Lord together. We will live in this world which we love so dearly and see it made perfect, in bodies that will have been perfected and transformed in ways we can’t begin to imagine, but yet recognisably our unique selves.

This assurance can strengthen us as we persevere in hope, and obedience, and especially it sustains us through loss, bereavement and change. All God’s people will be together – imagine it! All those unfinished conversations, the enjoyment of each unique personality with its gifts and particular ways of reflecting God’s glory. We will have eternity in which to share together, and nothing to make us grieve over parting ever again… thank you Lord, for this great encouragement to us, may we hold fast to you in faith and let the promise be our guiding light.

..is this all really for me?

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The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? ….  For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

(Ps 27.1&5)

‘Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.’

(Jn 5.24)

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God….

The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death… To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it..

To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.. just as I received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star… The one who is victorious will.. be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels..

The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, and I will also write on them my new name….

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.

(Rev 2.7,11,17,26-28;3.5,12-13,21)

Lord God, almighty and eternally good; Heavenly Father, perfect in compassion and in saving love, hear your child this night. She is weary with loss and parting; with uncertainty and the overwhelming grief of goodbye. Have mercy on your child in her weakness, and may your compassion hem her in with protection from despair and bitterness against you.

Mighty Saviour, zealous for my salvation, transformation and adoption into your Father’s family, I rest in your completed work on my behalf and acknowledge the poverty of my own life before your perfection. I have deserved judgement and condemnation, but have received mercy and grace in abundance. Thank you that as I trust in you, I am clothed in your righteousness, called by your name, assured of a place in glory with the saints which will never be taken from me.

Because it is you, my Lord, who sits upon the throne of glory, and because you sustain your life in me by your spirit, I hold up my head and boast of your power, love and atoning sacrifice. I am kept safe in your dwelling, and have crossed over from death into eternal life – life with all the qualities of the divine; I live your life.

Because it is you, my Lord, who sits upon the throne of glory, and because you have birthed in me the desire to know and love you ever more faithfully, I am confident to face suffering and death, bearing your name and knowing that my place at your side is secure. By your help, I will honour you in all that comes to me, playing the part assigned to me.

You will be faithful to your promises. I can rest in them, and stand firm against the tide of mockery, indifference or hostility that may come. Though the darkness of human evil and the anguish of suffering may rise like a tide to wash me away, yet I will be held safe on the rock of refuge, my Lord and Saviour. You have shown me the eternal realities behind this shadow-play, and I know who it is that truly reigns – it is the Lamb, looking as one who had been slain; it is my Jesus, and I can trust him. Let me be at peace and let his promises strengthen my faith to face all that may come.

Not just a future dream..

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No man presumes in that to which he was born; less than the gift to claim, would be the giver to scorn.

(G MacDonald; Diary of an Old Soul, 1880)

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you…

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted… to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion – to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

(Isa 60.1&2; 61.1-3; 62.1-3)

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God… you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

(I Pet 1.23;2.9)

I want to share with you some of the encouragement which I have been receiving in recent days as I come to the end of our ladies’ bible study in Isaiah, where the glory of God is revealed in his Anointed One, our coming King and the suffering Servant, Jesus.  The prophet is piling image upon image in his desire to express the wonder of God’s saving work, the beauty and all-sufficiency of the Anointed One who is also God’s word to a broken world, a word of healing and hope. I am – to quote an old hymn – often ‘lost in wonder, love and praise’ as I read and ponder our great God and his redeeming plan.

As followers of Christ in a broken world, living with the dregs of our old nature still dragging us away from holiness, living with the attacks of the enemy of our souls, living with the effects upon us of sin in the lives of others, it can be easy to concentrate on the difficulties of this life and our struggles. We cling to Christ for comfort and rest in his love, thankful to know forgiveness but acutely aware that until we are delivered through death, we will not know sinlessness. This is not wrong, this is our reality. But it is NOT the whole picture, and when we take time to consider who God says we are, and what he says has been done for us, then we see something intoxicatingly beautiful.

The apostle Peter, who surely knew plenty about human weakness and failings, writes to tell the church that they are – not will be, but are now – God’s chosen people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. Think about those things for a moment… You and I, aware of sin as we are, are also the beloved, purified, set-apart ones; we wear robes of rightness before God, he sees us holy and perfect because we are now born again in Christ. Because of the Word, Christ our saviour, we are re-created, and our new nature, our new name, our new potential is all for God’s purposes and glory. And we are not merely a trophy on a wall, to be admired, but actively participating in realising God’s purposes and sharing the life-giving Word with the world which is yet in darkness.

Let us today claim our birthright, and not scorn the one who called us into this new life, making us his own beloved children. Shall we close our eyes to his lavish goodness and cling tight to the rags of our shame?! Why on earth should we do so, when he is pouring out his love upon us, calling us to rejoice in our status and calling his own? Let us today stand against the lies of the evil one, who would blind us to the power in us by which Christ works to glorify God and shine the light into the darkness. We are irradiated by God’s glory – you, me, all our fellow believers around the world – we are the precious jewels which signify his majesty, power, grace and sovereignty.

Oh Father God, deliver us from the timid spirit that clings to its own familiar tattered garments of sin, and let us stand tall in the robes of righteousness which you have given us. Deliver us from shame, and let us so exult in your redeeming word and work that all may see and be entranced by your glory.

Not just background noise..

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Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him all you peoples For great is his love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord.

(Ps 117)

In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

(Isa 12)

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

(Rom 15.5-7)

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb… And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

(Rev 7.9&10)

The people of God are summoned many times in the great story of our salvation to sing, to make a joyful noise to our Lord and King. Singing in scripture is the proper response to the free gift of God to us – the gift of his love, his faithfulness, his forgiveness and most of all, the gift of Jesus Christ our Saviour by whom all other gifts come to us. We sing not because we like the sound of our voices so much, but because praise is absolutely the best way to acknowledge that we are beginning to appreciate all that has been done for us. The picture of God’s people from all around the globe joining their voices in song is deeply moving, and we long to experience it for ourselves. One day, we shall!

In the meantime, the song may be hard to sing, because our experience in the world feels so far removed from that triumphant rejoicing which is described in scripture. We are bombarded with accusations of bigotry, cruelty and arrogance from a culture that rejects the gospel; we grieve for the real pain, evil and destruction of God’s beautiful creation; and sometimes we are simply made to feel utterly irrelevant to the lives of those around us – as fools with nothing to offer. It can be hard to tune in to the triumph song of God’s saints when the world’s songs are so loud in our ears.

But as we discipline ourselves to return to God’s word regularly, choosing to preach the good news to ourselves in defiance of the world, we will find that the song of heaven sounds louder again and it becomes easier to sing it with confidence.

We are assured throughout the bible narrative that what is going on around us is far from the whole picture. I find it helpful to think of the scriptures of the Old and New testaments as a minority report on history – a counter-cultural understanding of events based on a conviction that God Almighty is on the throne, that He is faithful, powerful and purposeful, and that His plan is the redemption of a people for himself and the full  realisation of his kingdom.

As people who believe in the resurrected Christ, we have every reason to be certain that God will fulfill his plans, that we are as secure in our eternal future as if we were already through death and entered upon it. NOTHING can take that inheritance from us, and no experience of pain, abandonment, age, disappointment need silence our song. Rather, as the realities of this broken world press upon us, we can take comfort in that song which speaks of undying love, fulness of life, a reality more glorious and satisfying than anything we have known here.

Great Author of creation’s song, I praise you this day out of my full heart, and thank you for all that has been done for me in your plan, so that I have a place with you now in glory. Thank you that I can sing heaven’s triumph song here, in defiance of the dark, and in witness to the light. Thank you that as your people sing, they encourage one another and grow in strength. We are created to sing this great music together to your glory, and I pray that no matter what circumstances may weigh upon me, I may sing in harmony and with confidence. Let your song be the loudest in my life, no mere background music but the signature tune of my days. Let it be so, for your glory and the blessing of many, Amen.

When it all comes together

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Of the Father’s love begotten ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He, of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore.

O that birth forever blessed, when the virgin, full of grace, by the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Saviour of our race, and the babe, the world’s redeemer, first revealed his sacred face, Evermore and evermore.

This is He whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord, whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word; now He shines, the long-expected; let creation praise its Lord, Evermore and evermore.

O ye heights of heaven, adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing; all dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King; let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring, Evermore and evermore.

Christ, to Thee, with God, the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee, hymn and chant and high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be, honour, glory, and dominion, and eternal victory, Evermore and evermore.

(Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 348-413; tr by JM Neale 1818-66)

There shall come forth  a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord… In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples – of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

(Isa 11.1,2&10)

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons

(Gal 4.4)

Shall I see with the eyes of faith today? Shall I choose to see through the edifice of human history and discern His story? Shall I choose with the prophets, shepherds and wise men, with Mary and Joseph, Anna and Simeon, to see in this baby the breaking through of God’s purposes after centuries of waiting?

Lord, grant me the eyes of faith, to recognise the wonder and glory of that first Christmas, when you were born to Mary, when the divine robed himself in mortality and helplessness, and dwelt among us. Veiled in flesh, your glory muted to accomodate our sinfulness and spare us from being burnt up by your holiness; thus you remained on earth for a few short years, and in that time, accomplished deliverance for ever for all who ever lived who will accept it!

I will rejoice today in the ever living One, who was and is and is to come, and who yet entered time and took on flesh, becoming like us in order to save us from ourselves and from his great enemy. I will rejoice today in the wonder and majesty of the purposes of God, formed before time began and steadily worked out through all the countless choices of humankind down the years, until the day dawns when all is wound up and made new. I will rejoice that Christmas is not just a feast for the darkest time of the year, not just a party for the children, not just a comfortable tradition, but is truly good news, life-changing news, is true light against utter darkness, and will never be overcome.

Now, today, in my heart, the light shines and I join creation in praising my Lord. Long his coming was expected, and how long we have waited for his return! Today, in my heart, I cry, “Come, Emmanuel, and take us home! You are our Saviour and King, and your resting place will be among us, and will be glorious; we have waited long, Oh come soon.”