Living in the Spirit
September 13, 2017
Scripture Reading: Psalm 114
When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
I thought of Pippa’s Song by Robert Browning when I read Psalm 114. Poetry or other artistic forms may be the only way even to begin to express the power and majesty and, yes, love of God.
THE year ‘s at the spring,
And day ‘s at the morn;
Morning ‘s at seven;
The hill-side ‘s dew-pearl’d;
The lark ‘s on the wing;
The snail ‘s on the thorn;
God ‘s in His heaven—
All ‘s right with the world!
The people recently rescued from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey might begin to understand the wonder of the Israelites as they stood on the safe side of the Red Sea. Cecil B. Demille’s notwithstanding, we have no clue what really happened as the Israelites fled the oppression of the Egyptians. Getting the facts right is not nearly as important as understanding God love them, desired for them to be freed, and they were.
What we need to comprehend is that God loves us, desires the very best for us, and is actively engaged in working with us when we are willing to work with God.
Prayer: Thank you for poets who give us a glimpse of your wonder. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your continuing presence. Amen.