Friday, February 1, 2013

Psalm 36

Here is part of a psalm that I've been enjoying lately, so I thought I'd share it:  

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.

You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

                                                  --Psalm 36:5-10

2 comments:

  1. This post sent me to my bible, Pastor and I see that my version is a little different -
    I have the Tanakh and it reads:

    O LORD, Your faithfulness reaches to heaven;
    Your steadfastness to the sky;
    Your beneficence is like the high mountains;
    Your justice like the great deep;
    man and beast You deliver, O LORD.
    How precious is Your faithful care, O GOD!
    Mainkind shelters in the shadow of your wings.
    They feast on the rich fare of Your house;
    You let them drink at Your refreshing stream.
    With You is the fountain of life;
    by Your light do we see light.

    I love the imagery as David tries to give voice to the enormity of this living God - enlikening his power to the mountains and the skies, and for every living thing that he could imagine, man and beast, - it is lovely poetry.
    I love the way the old testament refers to light and water. Like they are living, moving things...never still, but teeming with life, flowing and shining into the darkness.
    The way the stream flows from the fountain, is a perfect metaphor for the coming Christ.
    Genesis - "Let there be light"
    Jesus says, "I am the light of the world..."
    "whoever drinks of the water, I give him will never thirst again"
    The utter beauty that David is singing of a promise that will not be fulfilled for such a long, long time, and yet was made before God created the world.
    It is dizzying in its complexity and beautiful in its simplicity.

    Thank you, Pastor, for inspiring me to read some of these Psalms again, I had forgotten how lovely they are.
    Debbie

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    Replies
    1. Debbie, my favorite phrase is: "in your light, we see light." I don't quite know what it means and it intrigues me.

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