Tag Archives: Psalm 145

Made in His image….

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Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

(Gen 1.26-27)

The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel, son of Uri… and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of crafts..

(Ex 31.1-5)

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.

They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

(Ps 145.10-13)

For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is for ever praised. Amen.

(Rom 1.20&25)

What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever

(Westminster shorter catechism, question 1)

The Bible teaches that all creation is formed by God, revealing so much about him – even as every subsequent act of human creation reveals things about its maker – and that includes humanity itself. Our own creative instincts are a part of our likeness to God, the Author of beauty, and as makers, we can share his delight in making.

Before humanity rebelled against God, choosing to disbelieve his love and goodness, and to reach for a role and status that we were never fitted for, we too revealed the truth about God, and because of sin, that revelation is marred – but it is not lost. The human potential for creativity remains, a potent force for good or ill, as are every other aspect of our lives, and when used to glorify God it is used for its highest purpose.

On a recent short visit to Florence, I was struck once again by the astonishing attention to detail which the craftsmen of the Renaissance brought to their labours – there are details in stonework, in mosaic and painting, which for centuries have been invisible to the naked eye of those walking about in the street below. So why bother going to all those lengths to create beauty which remains unseen? Why?! Because the creative instinct was driving an act of worship, and reflecting the truth that all we do is seen by our Father in heaven, and ultimately it is only his favour which matters. I love the idea of those master masons, and all the other trades and crafts pondering how best to create beauty in inaccessible corners, knowing that their delight in what was made would be shared by their Father in heaven!

Consider for a moment how much beauty exists in the world which we never see – how ridiculous it is then to assume that unless the human eye rests upon and approves it, there is no ‘point’ in that glorious moment! All of creation shouts praise to God, and he delights to receive that praise, from animate and inanimate, from the greatest movements of galaxies, down to the still unknown (to humanity) secrets of physics, biology and geology.

Our God-of-abundance has made more than we can imagine, more than we can ever see in our lifetimes, and all is made to speak of his divine nature and glorious power. I am thrilled to know that I can share that revelation as I seek to live with Jesus day-by-day, praying that God’s likeness might be revealed in my making and my loving, in my being, and that – with all creation – I might glorify my Maker, and enjoy knowing and being known by him into eternity.

“I came to see that the human imagination is not paramount in the creative process: that what is paramount is “The Creation” and He who created it and that what the true artist is expressing is not himself but his response to this eternal continuing process of Creation… I believe that, in the humblest way, we are collaborators on earth in God’s continuing act of Creation, and that this is the role of the artist in society.”

(Hew M Lorimer OBE, 1907-1993, Royal Scottish Academician, sculptor)

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!

Gifts overflowing…

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You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving towards all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

(Ps 145.16-19)

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills…

(Ps 148.1-9)

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life..Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?…But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

(Matt 5.25,26&27,33&34)

I have been challenged recently about my ability to take each day and use it well, not borrowing tomorrow’s troubles and also not neglecting today’s opportunities. There are so many small and mundane things that go to make up my daily life, it is all too easy to see them as a drudge, instead of the service to which I am called by my Lord at this time and in this place. I want to choose contentment in each day’s allotted tasks, fulfilling my duties with a cheerful spirit, and trusting that God sees and is glorified in these small things.

But as well as daily duties, there is also the promise of daily provision for my needs – the physical needs for shelter and food; the emotional needs of connection and satisfying activity; the spiritual needs of communion with my Lord and the reviving power of time spent in praising and thanking him, and appreciating all the good things I have received. Because Jesus has died for me, I am a beloved child of the Almighty, assured of his care for every part of my life and his promise that I matter to him.

And sometimes, I seem to receive a bumper parcel of good things, so that the whole day becomes a celebration, a private rejoicing between me and my Father who has sent so much for me to enjoy; calling me to focus on his goodness and abandon myself to thankfulness and delight in what he gives.

Today is one of those days…there are few and small duties, no household tasks that require urgent attention, and in the brilliance of the sunshine over the snow-clad hills, the calm burnished surface of the water, the voices of the birds in the thickets and the warmth of the sun on my skin I receive a bounty of good things. So I shall make today a holiday – a holy day, set apart for special times with my Father, my heart full of thankfulness for the senses, health, security and freedom which allow me to absorb so much beauty.

We are known and loved intimately by our creator. He knows how to speak his love into each heart, knows exactly what will tell us most profoundly of his delight in us and his acceptance of us. No two people will react in the exactly the same way to what I can see around me today – such is the infinite variety of our God in his creative power! But in each and every one of us, there is the potential to respond in loving and joyful adoration, exuberantly or silently, but always giving him the glory.

Let me celebrate with my Father today, as simply and profoundly as a child who lives every moment as it comes, extracting all the joy from each experience and not worrying about tomorrow. Let his love and overflowing goodness towards me fill and strengthen me; his beauty in creation show me the beauty which is his nature; and let his peace rule in my heart so that I let all my tomorrows remain safely held in his hands.