13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,
the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.Praise the LORD.
That is the wonder of this God of ours-
Majesty that is humble of heart
Favouritism that is not exclusive
Shaper of supernovas
Who also made-
Me
Let the Hallelujahs ring
Praise the LORD from the earth…
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
You powers of the government
Bow down
McDonalds and the CIA
Bow down
Economists of the IMF
Must bow down
.
You powers of the killing machines
Bow down
Pinochet and Stormin’ Norm
Bow down
You who live by the sword will all one day
Bow down
.
You powers of the media
Bow down
Makers and breakers of kings
Bow down
Celebrity cooks and reality Queens
Bow down
.
For I have walked the wild country
And watched the sun slipping slowly down
Turning green to gold
Working alchemy before my very eyes
.
I have seen the mountains
Lifting up their faces to the sky
Gathering in the starlight
So beautiful it makes me want to cry
.
And I can hear a voice- its calling me
Can you hear the voice?
It says-
.
Look upon my works you mighty
And weep
Praise the LORD from the earth…
wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds…
Sometimes I am an eagle
Catching the high cliff thermals
High and wild and free
.
Sometimes I am veal
Factory farmed and tenderised
Machine fed and chemically mutated
.
Sometimes I expand like the empty sky
Other times I burrow deep
Searching for a safe place
.
Wherever I go
You are there
(Praise the LORD from the earth…)
stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars…
So I was thinking about wind-
The sort that fills a sail with purpose and
Cracks flags in front of the pavilion
That raises up a litter dervish from the gutter
And streaks hair across pretty faces
It choreographs the sway of the marram grass
And cools the evening rest
.
But there are other winds that scare me
Desert winds that strip the skin from bone
And clawing winds that rip the fruit from the summer trees
Shaking the cedars to their ancient roots
Katabatic acrobatic angry winds
Howling down the holy mountain
.
I am stirred like the sea by a distant storm
With more questions than answers
For this wind blows wherever it pleases
The sound of it is in the branches
But who knows where it comes from
Or where it is going?
.
So it is with every child born of your Spirit
Beckoned into the glorious uncertainty
Of the Kingdom
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
I watch the waves in the distance, hoping for a glimpse of a sea monster
And ponder all that life down deep
All those colours invisible in indigo darkness
Alive in creations overflow
And it is all too big-
Unfathomable
.
Cuttlefish
Alien flashing transparency
Reduced somehow to parrot food
In another world
.
Whale
So big that movement seems tectonic
Impossible
.
And me- eyes watering in a wind whipped in from the arctic
Am a grain of blown sand
Dancing
Delayed this time by a power cut! The storm last night has blown trees down on the power lines, leaving Bute and Cowal without power for half of today. A little reminder of how vulnerable we are to a little weather.
At work- no computers, no phones, no mobile telephones (masts down too.) If you are vulnerable, no stair lifts, no e-care, no anti-pressure beds, no hot food, no heating. Scary really, just how dependent we are on something so artificial. Well done Dave and the boys for getting it back on in record time…
But back to the matter in hand- Psalm 148, the wonder of it all…
Look carefully at this picture. At first all black- but when you look again…
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
Light waves falling
.
Some blazing hot
The noon we circle round
Some a warm reflection
Smiling in the night sky
Some a tender starlight flicker
Almost unnoticed
.
All of it made-
Not manufactured
Crafted-
Not mass produced
.
Fractals of the infinite
Particles of the Divine
Making a prism of my soul
This week it is my turn to write a daily meditation for Aoradh. I will post them here too.
This time I will write around the exuberant praise of Psalm 148. A challenge for introspective types like me…
Psalm 148
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
Stand with the Angels
At the roof of the world
And shout with joy
At the wonder of it all
For the space that goes for ever
And we, just shapes
Suspended
this fragile tent 