Todays readings.. Exodus 35, Psalm 92&93, 1 Corinthians 4&5

“FOR YOU O LORD HAVE MADE ME GLAD ….”

Today’s Psalm (92) tells us “It is good … to declare your steadfast love in the morning” [v.1,2]   It is important to begin each day with taking at least a little time to focus our thoughts upon God, to declare to him in prayer our “steadfast love.”  We read on, “For you O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.”[v.4]

The wonders of creation are all around us, it is so easy to take them for granted. It is the greatest foolishness of human thinking to imagine that everything, sort of “created” itself.  God’s handiwork surrounds us on every side, men have discovered so much more about the wonders of their own bodies and the incredible intricacies of nature, yet so few acknowledge and are in awe of the unlimited creative “mind” that brought it all into being.

The Psalmist says “It should make us “glad” and “sing for joy.  How great are your works O LORD!  Your thoughts are very deep.” [v.4,5]  That last brief statement seems inadequate.  Can we begin to imagine the thought processes of God!  No – we cannot.  Through Isaiah God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [55 v.8,9]     

Last month in Psalm 40 we read “You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.” [v.5]   Tomorrow in Psalm 94 we will read the contrast, “the Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath” [v.11] But having said that the Psalm is positive and we read on and see, “Blessed is the man whom you discipline O LORD, and whom you teach out of your Law” [v.12]

So we learn, especially in the Psalms, that God’s eyes and thoughts are toward those who fear and love Him.  We have been learning in Exodus of how close to God Moses became; we read yesterday of how he was able to speak to God “face to face, as a man speaks to a friend” [33 v.11]  This does not mean physically face to face, but rather, mind to mind: the limits to physical contact is described in v.20 when God said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”   

How wonderfully precious the Bible should be to us, our reading of it should lead us to us, “… you O LORD have made me glad.” .  How God fearing men and women longed to read it hundreds of years ago.  Copies were precious then because they all had to be hand written.  Today the situation is the very opposite, the attitudes toward God’s word today are tragic. How much are we affected by this? How “glad” – for a godly reason – do you feel this morning.