Psalm 75
This is a Psalm written by Asaph to the tune of "Do not destroy".
We praise you, God, we praise you for your name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.
There is a telling word in the start of this Psalm - "We".
I've heard hundreds of times over the years that somebody I am talking to "Is a Christian, but doesn't go to church".
I'll happily admit that I'm in absolutely no position to judge other people and it is possible to be a Christian without going to church just as much as going to church does not mean that you are a Christian.
However there has always been a corporate sense to faith and worship and that the things you don't like about church may be outweighed by the positive things you do get from being a part of a group of believers.
The other thing from this first sentence that struck me is "your name is near" - God is not some distant concept, abstract and hard to understand like some of the particles they are trying to discover in experiments like the Large Hadron Collider.
God is recognised here as the just judge of the earth and that he can tell the arrogant to stop boasting and the wicked not to try their strength against immortal God.
People cannot exalt themselves before God - As I write this the Queens Birthday Honours list has been published, many of the people on the list have been recognised for their work and honoured for their contribution - I don't imagine that any one of them wrote to the Queen suggesting that they deserve an honour, it is not their choice, it is the gift of the Queen.
The judgement of God is described as a cup of spiced wine that the wicked drink down to the dregs. Again, when Jesus was praying just before his arrest and death he prayed "take this cup from me". As a Christian I believe that Jesus drank the cup of God's judgement.
The Psalm ends with a commitment to praise the God of Jacob who destroys the strength of the wicked but gives strength to the righteous.
We are now half way through the Psalms and nearly half way through the Bible.
This is a Psalm written by Asaph to the tune of "Do not destroy".
We praise you, God, we praise you for your name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.
There is a telling word in the start of this Psalm - "We".
I've heard hundreds of times over the years that somebody I am talking to "Is a Christian, but doesn't go to church".
I'll happily admit that I'm in absolutely no position to judge other people and it is possible to be a Christian without going to church just as much as going to church does not mean that you are a Christian.
However there has always been a corporate sense to faith and worship and that the things you don't like about church may be outweighed by the positive things you do get from being a part of a group of believers.
The other thing from this first sentence that struck me is "your name is near" - God is not some distant concept, abstract and hard to understand like some of the particles they are trying to discover in experiments like the Large Hadron Collider.
God is recognised here as the just judge of the earth and that he can tell the arrogant to stop boasting and the wicked not to try their strength against immortal God.
People cannot exalt themselves before God - As I write this the Queens Birthday Honours list has been published, many of the people on the list have been recognised for their work and honoured for their contribution - I don't imagine that any one of them wrote to the Queen suggesting that they deserve an honour, it is not their choice, it is the gift of the Queen.
The judgement of God is described as a cup of spiced wine that the wicked drink down to the dregs. Again, when Jesus was praying just before his arrest and death he prayed "take this cup from me". As a Christian I believe that Jesus drank the cup of God's judgement.
The Psalm ends with a commitment to praise the God of Jacob who destroys the strength of the wicked but gives strength to the righteous.
We are now half way through the Psalms and nearly half way through the Bible.
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