after that Psalm*
Above the Earth there’s a plur-al-ity°
that's telling out the glory of the God,
and heralding his creativity,
a body language saying quite a lot..
They use no speech (no words or voice are heard),
& yet their sign or message goes on out.
This makes me think of quite another WORD,
that showed us signs - he scattered them about.
And when he had infected with true life
the men whom he had made Ambassadors
of his new reign (especially when in strife),
they were to take his message (or his cause)
right all the way to the “ends of the world”a,
or as we'd say today, the whole world round.
And in these heavens God’s word was who hurled,
and made a place, and time where could be found
the fury of the sun, which comes out like
a bridegroom from his wedding banquet bed -
he's won his woman, he could almost hike
a hundred miles, he's quenched and quite well fed.
He's won before he starts, a stronger man,
who runs his course with joy. He rises up,
from one end of the heavens, and God's plan
means he goes to their end, still not bankrupt!
So nothing's hidden from its heat, undrained
it then returns tomorrow no less bright
than it was here today. It has not feigned,
it is not shadowed from reflected light.
A sun of righteousness was set to riseb,
to not just dry, and bake and scorch; but heal,
and give life down to Earth, from in the skies
(no fear that you would burn, and crack, & peal
that's if you fear God's name, serve who he sends,
and don't usurp yourself a higher place,
there's something pure in that that never ends,
and altogether right, his ruler's straight.
If God's anointed one commands a thing,
his word will bring a clarity to life,
his generosity will flow and bring
fresh light of love and grace to us, so rife.
The style and way of God's a path to tread,
they make your footstep firm and sure, and wise.
His rules of thumb, can save you lying dead.
His principles can give you nine lives twice!
His teaching is worth trying to recall,
reviving soul, and spirit, both complete,
so, perfect then, in helping out this Paul.
They're more desirable than gold. More sweet
than honey, or the drippings of the comb.
And by these things your servant (me) is warned;
Since I'm with you I can not be alone.
In keeping them, there is some great reward.
Who can detect the errors of their ways?
They seem to them quite right in their own eyes.
Clear me from hidden faults, and by your rays
please heal me from pride's cancer and demise.
Then I shall be quite blameless, innocent
of trespassing, for I'll have done like you.
Oh that my words and thoughts might be yours sent
this way, O Lord, my rock, redeemer too!
° The words “heaven” and “sky” are almost always singular in modern English, but in biblical Hebrew, the word shamayim is plural. That’s why we sometimes see “skies” or “heavens” in our English Bibles instead of “sky” or “heaven.” Hebrew grammarians call this a “plural of extension,” meaning the word is plural because it describes something large or complex. It’s a linguistic trick that works well in English, too. By nature, the word “skies” connotes something grander than “sky.” It makes sense to think of the realm above us as a vastness of things, not as a single thing. “The sky” doesn’t do justice to a clear view of a starry night outside city lights.
from “When Heaven Meets Earth - A 12-Part Biblical Study on Heaven from The Bible Project”, p.11, downloaded from https://thebibleproject.com/explore/heaven-earth on 25 Aug 2018 @ 8:41pm
a Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:45-47 NRSV
He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:7-8 NRSV
Acts 1:7-8 NRSV
Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 NRSV
b “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:1-2 NRSV
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