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Archive for the ‘Worship’ Category

Infinitely Superlative

Posted in General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Person of Jesus, Piety, Praise, Reflection, Thanksgiving, Worship, tagged , , , on April 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

While listening to a radio preacher on the way to work a few weeks ago, he challenged his listeners to take a blank piece of paper and write on it as many single words as they could that come to mind when thinking about God. That evening I sat down in my rocking chair to do just that. Many words came to me. I soon realized that all of the words should be understood to be superlatives. For example, God is not merely knowing but all knowing. The next thought came that any word that was superlative should describe God. Immediately a caution flag arose in my conceptual vision. I should only use words that are either in Scripture or clearly describe ideas in Scripture. It took me about 40 minutes to make the majority of the list below. More words came in subsequent days as I read the Scriptures in my devotions or heard a sermon at church, on the radio, and online. You cannot tell which words were on the first 40-minute list because I decided to alphabetize them for the sake of making a study out of them. I further decided to separate out descriptive words from names of God. I hope that this list is useful to you in your thinking about and meditating on God. There was one difficulty in the exercise. I tried to limit myself to attributes of God’s character and not works He has done. Much of what we know about God through Scripture and the witness of Creation revolves around what God has done. Many of the attributes listed below concern what He does flowing from who He is. It is a fine distinction that I tried to adhere to.

As a suggestion, you might meditate on one word per day, looking up the verses listed. You could also look up cross references in the column of your Bible to find more related verses. As you consider the ideas, praise and thank God for being an excellent being in this area. Consider three things additionally: 1) How does this attribute of God modify or fortify my concept of who God is? 2) How does this concept increase my security in God and confidence for living for Him? 3) How does this idea about God increase my piety, both positively in godly living and negatively in mortifying the flesh and overcoming temptation?

AbleLuke 3:8; Rom 4:21PerfectDeut 32:4; Mt 5:48 
AwesomeDeut 10:17PowerfulPsa 29:4 
BeautifulIsaiah 4:2Pure2Sam 22:27; Psa 19:8; 1Jn3:3 
CaringI Peter 5:7RealDeut 4:35; Isa 44:8, 45:5 
CommunicativeGen 35:13; Ps 50:1Relational1 Cor 1:9; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 Jn 1:3 
CompassionateExo 34:6; Deut 4:31ReposedGen 2:1-3; Is 28:12 
CondescendingGen 16:13, 21:15-19; Isa 57:15RighteousDeut 32:4; Psa 116:5; Acts 22:14 
DiscerningPs 138:6; 139:2Self-sufficientPsa 50:10-12 
EternalDt 33:27; Isa 9:6; Jn8:58ShiningEzek 8:2; 1 Jn 2:8; Rev 1:16 
ExaltedJob 36:26; Psa 97:9; Acts 5:31SourceDeut 8:3-9; Heb 5:9; James 1:17 
FaithfulDeut 7:9 ; Isa49:7; I Cor 10:13SovereignPsa 103:19;Dan 4:25,34-35, 5:21 
FamousIsaiah 66:19StrongJob 9:19; 2 Sam 22:33 
ForgivingNum14:18TranscendentI Kings 8:27;Job 37:23;Isa 57:15 
GivingJam 1:17; Dt 8:18; Matt 5:45TrueJer 10:10; Jn 3:33, 17:3; 1 Th 1:9 
GloriousExo 15:11, Psa 29:2,9TrustworthyPsa 22:4-5 
GoodI Chr 16:34; Ez 3:1;Mark 10:18UnsearchableJob 5:9; Rom 11:33 
GraciousNeh 9:17; Psa 103:8WiseRom 11:33, 16:27;1Cor 1:26 
GreatExo 18:11; Deut 5:24,10:17WonderfulIsa 9:6 
HeavyPsalm 32:4, see gloryWorthyPsa 18:3; Rev 4:11, 5:12 
HolyIsa 6:3; Rev 4:8,154WrathfulLev 26:28; Nah 1:2 
HonorableLev10:3; Dt28:58; Jn5:23ZealousJoel 2:18; Zech 1:14-15 
InfinitePs147:5; Eph3:18-19   
Intense (Fierce)Num25:4; Jer30:24; Rev19:15AlmightyGen 17:1; Job 40:2; Rev 1:8 
InvisibleCol1:15; J n1:18AlphaRev 1:8, 21:6, 22:13 
JealousEx20:5; Nah1:2CreatorEccl 12:1; Isa 40:28 
JustDt32:4; Rom3:26ChristActs 10:38; 18:28 
KindPs145:17; Eph1:5FatherPsa 68:5; Jn 8:54; 1 Cor 8:6 
LifeGen2:7; Jn1:414:6; Rev20:4JesusMatt 1:,16,21; Phil 2:10 
LongsufferingEx34:6; 2 Pt3:15JudgeGen 15:14,18:25; Psa 7:11, 75:7 
LovelyPs 84:1, 135:3JustifierIsa 53:11; Rom 3:26,30 
LovingkindnessPs 69:16; Jon4:2KingPsa 47:2,95:3; Mal 1:14;Rev15:3 
MajesticEx15:11; Is33:21LordGen 2:4,15:7; Ex 20:2;Acts 22:8 
MercifulPs 86:15; Jam 5:11OmegaRev 1:8, 21:6, 22:13 
MightyPs50:1; Is9:6PriestZech 6:13;Heb 3:1, 4:14, 5:6, 7:3 
MoralLk23:41; 2Cor5:21; Jam1:13ProphetDeut 18:15,18;Acts 3:13-23,7:37 
OmnipotentJob42:2; Eph1:18-22ProtectorPsa 14:6, 46:1, 146:9 
OmnipresentPsa 139:7-12ProviderPsa 147:8, Eph 3:20 
OmniscientJob34:4,21; Psa 33:13; 1Jn3:20RedeemerJob 19:25 
Patient2 Pt3:9,15; 1 Tim1:16SaviorIsa 43:3,11, 47:4 Jer 50:34 
  SpiritGen1:2;Jn14:16,16:13;Rom8:11 

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Thank You for

Posted in Delights, General, God Thoughts, Poem, Thanksgiving, Worship, tagged , on December 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The radio preacher reminded me that thanksgiving is not just a privilege but a command. As 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I reflected on how much and how well that I thank God. Though I sometimes do more and frequently when singing hymns, I too often reduce my thanksgiving down to a quick prayer before a meal along the lines of “Thank You for this food and for this day.” In itself there is nothing wrong with the phrase, but it is trivial when repeated. Given all that God has given me, it is a wholly incomplete thought. So, I began to write a poem. As a few verses came, I then realized that it would be hard to say that this poem was ever really at an end. His gifts and goodness are infinite, and I could never thank Him for all that He is and all that He has done. That’s OK. I can start and continue and perhaps I have covered a few categories.

Thank You for this food and for this day
For all provisions along the way
Thank You for Your presence all the time
For Your wondrous attributes sublime

Thank You for this recent year gone by
For blessings, for trials that make us sigh
Thank You, too, for many times of rest
For faith, strength, and refuge in each test

Thank You for true fellowship in church
For prayers and good help when in a lurch
Thank You for the Word preached unashamed
For witnesses of fame and unnamed

Thank You for purpose and work to do
For times to say and live what is true
Thank You for Your Word to contemplate
For times to retreat and recreate

Thank You for those to love and be loved
For people to reach who are unloved
Thank You for the Gospel that saved me
For the blood of Christ that set me free

Thank You for beauty in all You’ve made
For Your glory that will never fade
Thank You for this world’s wondrous design
For Your knowledge and power divine

Thank You for heaven we will enjoy
For no more sin our peace to destroy
Thank You for eternity with You
For no more sorrow and all things new

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Not Gaze At Glory

Posted in Blessing, Faith, General, Glory, Grace, Metaphor, Worship, tagged , , , , , on May 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

We don’t think of heaven enough; we are too earthly bound. We cannot imagine the glories there; we look through a glass dimly. What will be our focus, what our glory there? I was listening to several hymns on the YouTube channel A Cappella Hymns. The simple, unadorned polyphony of voices helps me to focus on the words and learn the melody and parts. Arriving at the last verse of the hymn, “The Sands of Time”, I thought, “Yes, that is what I will do there.” I won’t be glancing around at lesser glories and gifts, but upon my glorious Redeemer. Then, because of His grace through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and finished work of salvation, the phrase will be secured, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) The metaphor in the song is biblical and applied well:

“The bride eyes not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory,
but on my King of grace;
not at the crown he giveth,
but on his piercèd hand:
the Lamb is all the glory
of Emmanuel’s land.”

And it reminds me of a similar thought in the hymn, “Oh, That Will Be Glory”:

“When by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face
Will through the ages be glory for me.”

Mind you, infinite, all sufficient, sovereign, free grace is all that you or I need to enter heaven. The preacher I heard this morning pointed out that free grace is a tautology, a repetition of ideas, since grace, unmerited favor, could be no other than free, that is unearned. But then to say grace is sovereign, meaning that God has made the free, uninfluenced choice is yet another shade of the same thing. It seems man’s mind hunts for ways to contaminate the simple teaching of Scripture and we must add modifiers to limit and clarify terms to the exact meaning within Scripture. And so with infinite and all-sufficient, the same idea is emphasized in slightly different ways. Infinite speaks to my heart of the never ending nature of grace and all-sufficient pronounces all my sin and shortcomings fully covered by grace.

A mere place in heaven, “a cabin in the corner of gloryland” would be glory, but trivial compared to looking upon His face. And”That will be glory, be glory for me!”

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Preparatory Prayer

Posted in God Thoughts, Praise, Prayer, Worship, tagged , , , on August 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Merciful Heavenly Father, prepare us for worship by calling to mind those sins of the past week that we need to confess and give us repentant hearts in this moment. Prepare us for worship by focusing our minds on Your glorious character and excellent provision. Prepare us for worship by giving us attention to the truth of Your Word with a desire to heed its life-giving counsel. Prepare us for worship by opening our hearts to true fellowship and unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Prepare us for worship by raising our voices in praise of our good and glorious God and His all sufficient grace toward us. We pray for the sake of Your praise and the furtherance of Your Kingdom in the world and in our hearts. Amen.

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Overflows from the Heart

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart…" Matthew 15:18

CreatorWorship

Pointing to the One who made, saved, and sustains