Tag: Glory

The Glory of God in the Cross

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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. John 1:14

A series of preceding posts looked at the work accomplished by the Savior on the Cross. Each focused on the salvific work and the categories of understanding that theologians have applied: propitiation, redemption, justification and reconciliation. Limiting our descriptive language to this taxonomy leaves us questioning; we see what God accomplishes on the Cross but we are deficit in hearing the complete message that He wants to communicate via this moment in history.

The first revelatory facet that we note is God’s glory revealed in the Cross. The same glory that filled the Temple in Old Testament revelation is also seen in Jesus, who dwelled among us for a little while (Jn 1:14). In addition to satisfying God’s righteousness requirements, in fulfilling His demands for justice, Jesus proclaims how the Father’s glory is seen in his humiliation and sacrifice (John 17:1). As Stott points out “the glory that radiates from the cross is that same combination of divine qualities which God revealed to Moses as mercy and justice, and which we have seen in the Word made flesh as ‘grace and truth (Ex 34:6).”

Grace and peace to you…

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Psalm 68 – Proclaim the power of God

imageIf you were to compose a psalm proclaiming all that God has brought you through as you follow Him to glory it would likely end up reading much like Psalm 68. The glory of the Father is magnified in the processional and was rehearsed in a liturgy used in the Temple. The worshippers who trail behind the Ark and the Cherubim cry out:

Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds —

his name is the Lord —

and rejoice before him. (v4)

We lift our voices in praise because of who He is and what He is but it is an expression of mercy over evil that helps us to associate our hearts with the congregation..

God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

When you went out before your people, O God, when you marched through the wasteland, 

the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,

before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. (vv 6-8)

This is the God we worship, the one who leads us safely through the wasteland. Despite the temptations on all sides, it is God who leads us home without fear. We fall behind Him as He takes the rightful place at the head of the procession and follow it to the altar.

 

Grace and peace to you.

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Psalm 8 – What is Man

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (v1)

This statement of effusive praise brackets both ends of the psalm. The verses sandwiched between offer some of the most overlooked words of encouragement. The psalmist poses and answers the question that elicits the praise:

what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. (vv 4 – 5)

Humankind is not some kind of nuisance creation, destined to corruption and rebellion against their creator. No! Humankind was created specifically to be close to God, dependent on His presence for their security, perseverance, and satisfaction. Men and women were created with purpose, not to merely live out their days in empty pursuit of experience. David looks to the immeasurable complexity and glory of the heavens and compares the insignificant speck that is humankind. The Lord reveals to him that as much care went into the creation of man as in the laying out of the stars. The heavens look in on humans with envy because the people are much, much closer to God than the sky.

The joy of God’s eyes, the creatures that he will one day sacrifice His Son for, cry out,

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (v9)

Trusting the Promise

It is at this hour of the morning where God’s promises are so passionately and vibrantly clear. Looking to the East, I can watch as the low, endlessly flat horizon of the Great Plains begins to divide from darkness to light. In the dark, the horizon disappears and yet, at the appointed hour the slightest hint of the new day begins to show. At first, it is a change from deep black to a violet to a blue but it soon changes to a hint of pink then orange then a blaze of glorious yellow as the warming sun pokes it rays above the edge of the world!

I see the promised sun again, light that my brothers in the East have already gloried in without my jealousy and light that my sisters in the West await in anticipation. Your promises, Father, can always be trusted though sometimes I must wait while others enjoy your blessing. You remind me by the passing of the day that others are waiting as well and I should have not pride in the blessings your visit upon me. Glory to God in the Highest!

Psalm 113 

Praise the Lord.
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
     Let the name of the Lord be praised,
both now and forevermore.
     From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
     The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
     Who is like the Lord our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
     who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?
     He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
     he seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
     He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the Lord.