Devotional articles
God at the Centre
For us it’s the turn of the year and the end of the first
decade of the new millennium. For the writer of Psalm 65 it is the climax of the
agricultural year. For David and for us then an appropriate time to pause and
reflect.
A kind of centripetal force is at work in verse 2. All
flesh will come to him. All are accountable to him. The movement of history is
towards him. Many are fleeing to him for refuge, calling upon him. The time is
near when all will have to bow the knee and confess that Jesus is Lord. All
humanity is drawn irresistibly whether by grace to be saved or by force to be
judged. ‘For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the
glory for ever! Amen’ (Romans 11:36).
What is it that puts God at the centre,
what creates the obligation to praise?
I don’t know what have been the high points and low points
for you since 1 January 2009. There will have been perhaps loss of some kind;
perhaps serious disease or chronic illness; financial pressures; family
tensions. Perhaps there have been joys and real pleasures in the natural as well
as spiritual spheres. As we read Christmas newsletters there will be a variety
of stories. But there is one thing certain - that we have sinned. 2009 has its
own catalogue of sins. There has been that in our speech, thought and deeds that
has been shameful and sordid. Probably you have struggled with certain sins in
the past year. Indeed at times you have felt ‘overwhelmed by sins’ - you have
felt you were losing the battle. Sin has been so huge, so entrenched. It has
become an intolerable burden. You have despaired. You are not alone. This is
authentic Christian experience (Romans 7:22-24). However, ‘you atone for our
transgressions’. God alone is willing and able to provide atonement. No other
religion has a God who delights to show mercy (Micah 7:18); to quote Paul,
‘Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more’ (Romans 5:20).
The New Testament explains how the atonement is achieved at
the cross. The Jesus who shed his propitiatory blood continues to intercede, to
minister on our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary. He is a merciful and faithful
high priest. There is not a day when his blood does not atone for our sin.
To the embarrassment of the US Secret Service, a couple
recently gate-crashed a White House state dinner in honour of the Prime Minister
of India. They shook hands with President Obama and put the photos on Facebook.
They weren’t on the guest list, but even those invited didn’t necessarily get to
spend time with the President. Through Christ’s work of atonement we have access
into God’s presence, ‘Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in
your courts!’
Access is …
a right bestowed by a sovereign, not achieved or contrived by
man’s initiative or ability.
the right of dwelling on a permanent basis, ‘in the courts of
the Lord.’
a place of delight in fellowship with God, ‘We shall be
satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple’ (See
also Psalm 84:10).
It has been our privilege throughout the year to be able to
approach God. How have we used this access bought for us? ‘Since we have
confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way opened for us…, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full
assurance of faith’ (Hebrews 10:19-22).
3. A God of awesome deeds (verses 5-8)
Our God is the God of all the earth. The nations are
Christ’s inheritance. The Son is the Saviour for all peoples. In far-spread
lands God’s wonders are made known and rejoiced in. The psalmist seamlessly
weaves together God’s dominion over the natural world and his dominion in the
moral and spiritual sphere, ‘who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of
their waves, and the turmoil of the nations’ (verse 7; compare Isaiah 17:12-14).
The one who stills the storm is able to subdue unruly, disobedient, threatening
peoples, to rule the nations with a rod of iron. He is the head over all things
for his church. These awesome deeds form the answer to the cries of his people –
God acts in righteousness. All that he does bears this hallmark. His people will
not be forgotten. He has intervened and will intervene to deliver us.
4. A God of abundance (verses 9-130
The idyllic pastoral scene presented in these verses
couldn’t be more different from the bleakness of midwinter in the UK. What holds
in the natural is also true in the spiritual. What God had so visibly done for
the land, in its seasonal fruitfulness and abundance, he does invisibly for us.
He is ‘The Lord who daily loads us with benefits’ (Psalm 68:19), seen and
unseen. He has inexhaustible stores of blessing for us in Christ. The year is
‘crowned’ with God’s bounty. How quickly the year goes by! And how slow we are
to acknowledge God’s goodness and be thankful.