Friday 8 May, 2015

1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. 2 Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. 4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 8 he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.

What an extraordinary juxtaposition of ideas: the Lord who is high above the nations and higher than the heavens stoops down to look at Earth; He lifts the poor and seats them among princes!

I prefer not to stoop: it’s awkward and uncomfortable, a little demeaning. Yet almighty God chooses to stoop down to look on me. He has no need for me, but He comes looking for me. Why? So He can lift me to a place of honour I don’t deserve.

It’s similar to Psalm 8 “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

I see it again in Philippians 2:6-8, speaking of Jesus: “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

What’s the appropriate response? “Praise the Lord!” – beginning to end.

Written by David Cornell