PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.5.1.6
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.
⁌ Psalm 108:5
Higher Than the Heavens
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.5.1.6
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
▻Psalm 108:4
I Will Sing Praises
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.5.1.5
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
✴︎ Psalm 108:1-3
Consider the Steadfast Love of the Lord
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.5.1.4
He pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth.
Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
⍟ Psalm 107:40-43
Foundation of a Dynasty
To Americans, the word Dynasty conjures up visions of a really tacky television show… though I’m old enough to remember when it was also an automobile made by Dodge. But we also know that a dynasty is really a royal house. They say that the oldest dynasty in the world is the one the Japanese emperor belongs to—the Yamoto dynasty which dates back to the seventh century B.C.E. The one we’re most familiar with in the English-speaking world, of course, is the House of Windsor, which is exactly 100 years old. A new dynasty didn’t come into power in the United Kingdom in 1917, but the ruling family decided that its old German name wouldn’t do during the First World War, so they changed its name to something more British.
Many Christians also look at the church in a rather dynastic way. I don’t know of any Christians who believe that church leadership has to be passed on within a biological family. But many—most, really—believe in something called an apostolic succession. To better understand this, let’s take a look at a piece of scripture most of us are familiar with. It’s found in the 16th chapter of Matthew when Jesus asks his disciples what people are saying of him.
He Sent Out His Word
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.5.1.3
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.
⚀ Psalm 107:19-20
The Hungry He Fills with Good Things
PSALM 1255.5.1.2
For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
⚓︎ Psalm 107:9
He Is Good
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.5.1.1
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
⑇ Psalm 107:1
Give Thanks
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.27
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy Name and glory in your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord!
⁌Psalm 105:47-48
Observe Justice
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.26
Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
—Psalm 106:3
He Opened the Rock
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.25
They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.
▪︎ Psalm 105:40-43
He Is Mindful of His Covenant
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.24
He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.
—Psalm 105:8
Give Thanks to the Lord
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.23
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his Name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
—Psalm 105:1-4
I Rejoice in the Lord
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.22
May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
❦ Psalm 104:33
Send Forth Your Spirit
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.21
These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
—Psalm 104:27-31, 33
How Manifold
PSALM OF THE DAY 104.4.2.20
O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
☞ Psalm 104:24
They Sing among the Branches
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.19
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.
—Psalm 104:12-15
You Make Springs Gush Forth
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.18
You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, giving drink to every wild animal.
—Psalm 104:10-11a
Fire & Flame
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.17
You make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
—Psalm 104:4
A Costly Choice
Choose this day whom you will serve.
—Josh. 24:15b
IA. Cheesecake & Halibut?
I think most of us are familiar with at least part of this morning’s reading from the Hebrew scriptures. It is, after all, an all-time favorite preaching text of Protestant pastors. Israel has been through a long ordeal. They were delivered from slavery, they spent years wandering in the wilderness, and they completed the conquest of the country God had promised them. And after it was all over, their leader, Joshua, gathered them together at Shechem—near the modern Palestinian city of Nablus—and offered them a choice: Choose between the God who brought you here, and the old gods—the ones you used to worship, the ones all the people around you have chosen.
It’s a good passage of scripture to take at face value. It’s just as valid a choice today as it was 3300 years ago. Choose this day whom you will serve: the God who made you what you are and who brought you this far, or the things you used to serve. Or, Choose this day whom you will serve: the God of your ancestors, or the things and values that hold everybody around you in thrall.
There must be a million different sermons a pastor can preach on this one little verse. Indeed, I’ve probably preached a hundred of them. And though the narrative as a whole is easy to include in sermons, there’s one section that not only makes it difficult if we include it, it literally flies in the face of Christian theology:
Wrapped in Light
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.16
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,
wrapped in light as with a garment.
—Psalm 104:1-2a
Bless the Lord
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.15
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
—Psalm 103:22
From Everlasting to Everlasting
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.14
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
—Psalm 103:17-18
As a Father Has Compassion
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.13
As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
—Psalm 103:13
As Far as the East Is from the West
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.12
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
—Psalm 103:8-12
Justice for All Who Are Oppressed
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.11
The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
—Psalm 103:6
Forget Not All His Benefits
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.10
⚓︎ Psalm 103:2-4
Seeds of Faith
An All Saints Invitation to the Table
Not too long ago, airplane passengers flying into a small airport located in Northern Ireland began to notice something beneath them in the forest. There was an outline of something in the trees. It wasn’t always so striking, because the colors didn’t always stand out. But this year, when October rolled around, there was no denying it. In a woodland otherwise made up almost entirely of spruce trees, a different kind of tree—thousands of them!—had been planted. But the planting wasn’t done haphazardly. It was done very intentionally in the shape of an almost perfectly formed Celtic cross. The scale of the cross—over 300 feet long and over 70 feet wide—is so enormous that it cannot be perceived from the ground. Only from the air is it now visible. And because it’s autumn, the difference between the dark green spruce and the golden larch is breathtaking.
Not too long ago, airplane passengers flying into a small airport located in Northern Ireland began to notice something beneath them in the forest. There was an outline of something in the trees. It wasn’t always so striking, because the colors didn’t always stand out. But this year, when October rolled around, there was no denying it. In a woodland otherwise made up almost entirely of spruce trees, a different kind of tree—thousands of them!—had been planted. But the planting wasn’t done haphazardly. It was done very intentionally in the shape of an almost perfectly formed Celtic cross. The scale of the cross—over 300 feet long and over 70 feet wide—is so enormous that it cannot be perceived from the ground. Only from the air is it now visible. And because it’s autumn, the difference between the dark green spruce and the golden larch is breathtaking.
But you know what’s really weird? Nobody knew it was even there until just recently.
All That Is Within Me
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.9
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
✳︎ Psalm 103:1
The Appointed Time Has Come
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.8
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come. For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust. The nations will fear the Name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory. For the Lord will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
⑇ Psalm 102:13-17
Like an Evening Shadow
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.7
My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; your Name endures to all generations.
☙ Psalm 102:11-12
You Can't Fall Any Deeper...
You can't fall any deeper than into God's hand,
which he has mercifully spread out for salvation.
All paths will flow through doom, guilt, and death into God's grace despite all our suffering. Here, too, in space and time, we are surrounded by God and we will live in him, and be with him in eternity. (Arno Pötzsch)
Choir & orchestra of St. Magnus Roman Catholic Church, Bad Schussenried, Baden-Württemberg, Germany from November 23, 2014.
Hear My Prayer
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.6
Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.
▪︎ Psalm 102:1-2
The Faithful in the Land
PSALM OF THE DAY 1255.4.2.5
I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
⁌ Psalm 101:6
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