Page 9 - Living light - The Psalms

Monday June 3 - Reverberating love
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:4
The apostle Paul was steeped in the Hebrew Bible, the Scriptures given to the Jewish people. When he became a follower of Jesus, he joined up the wisdom in these sacred texts with the revelation of Jesus, the living Word (John 1:14). For instance, when he wrote to the church at Rome, he quoted Psalm 19:4, lamenting his Jewish brothers and sisters who rejected Jesus: ‘But I ask: did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world”’ (Romans 10:18).
Here Paul applies the revelation of God in creation to God’s ‘obstinate people’ who refuse to follow God (Romans 10:21, in which Paul quotes Isaiah 65:2). We who have received God’s revelation through both the Old Testament and the New are invited not only to believe and obey God’s word but to share this precious treasure with others. If God held to account those who didn’t yet have the full revelation of Jesus through the letters and stories of the newly-formed church, how much more will we be responsible for what has been revealed to us?
But we don’t need to tremble in fear over this responsibility, for we understand that we have God’s Spirit dwelling within us, giving us the words to speak in the moment and the faith to keep on believing.
Living Jesus, thank you for taking residence in me, bringing inspiration, peace and joy. Please help me to share this love with others. Amen.
Tuesday June 4 - The books of glory
In the heavens he (God) has pitched a tent for the sun... nothing is deprived of its warmth. Psalm 19:4-6
The 16th-century French theologian Jean Calvin spoke of creation as the theatre of God’s glory, where God as the Conductor directs each unfolding scene, culminating with the lead actor in the main event – God taking on human form in Jesus. Calvin also spoke of two books that reveal God’s glory: one being the creation and the other the Scriptures. We are blessed to experience both books, and to be witness to the great story of salvation. Indeed, each year through the church calendar we rehearse this wonderful narrative as we celebrate Jesus’ birth and then mark his death and resurrection.
As the psalmist David affirms, creation tells the great story of a loving Creator whose intelligence is imprinted into the design of a sea shell, whose love rushes in like a breaking wave, and whose warmth heats the earth through the sun. Life started and will end in a garden, where we will enjoy community with each other and the Master Gardener. And in that place, we will experience no floods or piercing rain, no droughts or devastating heat.
As you think about our God, who is so powerful that he can even ‘pitch a tent around the sun’, why not seek his heart for how you could steward creation? Might he bring to mind some action you could take to care for our surroundings?
Loving God, show me how I can do my part in slowing down the polluting of our planet, whether through actions small or large. Please help us! Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY