Sunday, January 07, 2007

your light has come upon you


Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. Isaiah 60:1-3 and 5

May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. Psalm 72: 3-7

I have no deep meditative thoughts on these verses. I only want to share the gladness the blessings give me. There is a richness in them that fills my soul with that deep joy that actually makes me want to sit and enjoy them rather than run off and shout and yell or otherwise do something about them. I am not good at sitting still - so the pleasure is immense. I want to enjoy the 'abundance of the sea' today.

The wildness of the sea and the mast of the ship in this painting by Albert Bierstadt (The Shore of the Turquoise Sea) highlights to me that seeking those gifts for ourselves is asking to be shipwrecked. We can only enjoy them when we allow God to gift them to us.

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:45 AM

    Yesterday's Oswald Chamber's devotion said "God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others." so not only seeking them, but keeping them also, will shipwreck us. I too have read much that I just want to meditate on rather than shout off the mountaintops...so I appreciate you at least sharing this "blessing" with us as many will read it and make it their own.
    BTW...I will get back with you about the lecture post..I'm leaning towards a powerpoint.

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  2. Anonymous1:18 PM

    Oh my! I love that painting. I'm not familiar with Albert Bierstadt, it looks almost pre-raphaelite-esque in the detail and use of light. I had a quick lookie see at his stuff on all posters...he liked his mountains didn't he? Very romantic stuff.

    As for the scriptures, wow, just thrills the soul, I totally know what you mean about not being able to keep still when you are moved by something. Lol, many a time I have been so tempted to run up and down the street in the middle of the night because I have got rather excited by something (I don't though I'd probably get mugged).

    Thanks for sharing these scriptures and the painting!

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  3. I see Sarah is a fellow pre-raphaelite fan :) I can't read those verses without hearing Handel's Messiah in my mind!

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  4. Dramatic image.

    Thanks for the comment today.

    Pushing back the thorns made a difference.

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  5. Wow, I am moved here as well, especially by "May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth." The sacred stillness you mention is one i associate with rain a lot, the sacredness I feel from the gift of rain seems to still and yet move something deep inside...

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  6. lovely painting and great thoughts! Thanks! I need that this morning!

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  7. Stunning painting. Makes my stuff look like a child with finger paints. :)

    I so needed this today. I have come back and reread several times today, thinking to comment but being called away. But every time I read it brought to mind Let It Rise, by Holland Davis, which we sang in church on Sunday . I needed it today, a reminder that all things are to bring Him glory and that we are to let His glory rise. Thank you for sharing this beautiful painting and those incredible words from His Word.

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  8. what a lovely painting and the word is one I hold dear to.

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  9. Beautiful. This was our old testament reading on Sunday. I love the image you have chosen for it.

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