Years ago there was a popular song with the words –
Some took these words and quoted them as a good reason why they didn’t go to church! I suspect that wasn’t the songwriter’s intention. I rather like the "wide open spaces" myself. As I look at the grandeur of creation, I reflect on the majesty of the Creator and find myself drawn to worship.
But the private worship in the wide open spaces can never be a substitute for meeting with others of the Lord’s people for worship and encouragement.
Psalm 95 is an "enthronement psalm", calling on the people to acknowledge that the Lord is "the great King above all gods" (v. 3).
"The depths of the earth… the mountain peaks… the sea… the dry land" – all are the Lord’s creation, all are rightly his (vv. 4,5).
The Lord is also "our Maker". By rights, we too are his. But he isn’t some abstract remote Creator – "for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care" (v. 7).
The Creator is personal and seeks a personal relationship with us as human beings. In fact, through Jesus we come to know him as our heavenly Father – not simply his flock, but his family.
What good cause then to sing for joy, to shout aloud, and to bow down and kneel in worship!
But the relationship is important. During the Exodus, at a place called Rephidim, there was a shortage of water and the people quarrelled and complained. "Is the Lord among us or not?" they asked. In fact, the Lord gave a miraculous and adequate supply of water out of the rock which Moses struck with his staff.
The place came to be called Massah ("testing") and Meribah ("quarrelling") because of this incident (Ex. 19.1-7). That generation would die in the wilderness. It would be the next generation that would enter the Promised Land.
These words are quoted in the epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament with the comment, "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first" (Heb. 3.12-14).
It’s all true! Shout it out! Live it out! Encourage others to hold firmly to their confidence in the Lord!
| Prayer: Eternal Lord, you are our Maker. You are the Rock of our salvation. We sing for joy to you! We shout to you! We bown down before you! Help us to trust you, to listen to you, to love you, to obey you. Help us to support and encourage one another, and to bring courage to others day by day. In Jesus’ name, Amen. |
This is
the Father’s world –
the flowers and trees,
the hills and streams
declare his majesty.
Shout for joy!
We are
his people –
loved
from eternity,
redeemed
from iniquity,
welcomed
in his family.
Shout for joy!
Today,
hear his word,
love
and trust him,
seek his will
and do it.
Shout for joy!
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