Looking out at God
Linda Pollock
January 31, 2024
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Psalm 95: 1-5 (NRSVA)
1
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!2
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!3
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.4
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.5
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
Many scholars believe that this song was composed as a theological response to the uncertainty and ignorance of the people of God living in exile in Babylon circa 587 B.C.E.
The captives were struggling with the sovereignty of God amid the false gods and religious practices surrounding them. No doubt, they will have asked why their God was failing to rescue them from this terrible time they were enduring.
This psalm, along with several preceding, reveal that the community of God’s people didn’t really know the One Who gave them life, Who spoke, and all of creation came into being. Verse 3 reminds them and us that, “the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
The key to understanding the identity of God is developing intimacy with Him. We are urged to, “… come into His Presence…” (verse 2)
You see, when we make time daily to be still in His Presence, we cannot help but glimpse Who God is, and then we are empowered to look out, to see God in others, to look out and see the ones shoved to the margins, to look out and see the ones overlooked because of their post code, the ones with ‘funny’ accents, or skin different from our own. When we are intimate with the sovereign God, we cannot help but look out and see His creative work all around us – from the unexplored depths of the sea to greatest mountain top.
Prayer:
O Sovereign God, give us courage to worship you in secret as well as in public. In our longing for You, may we do the work necessary to develop our relationship, our union with You. As we grow in Your love and grace, help us to look out to others, to look out at all of Your creation and to see Your Image in all of Your handiwork. In the Name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.
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