SUNDAY 7th
Psalm 29
NIV (v4) – ‘The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.’
ESV (v4) – ‘The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.’
I used verse 3 of this chapter right back in the first week of our devotions, on the 25th of March 2020, with the theme of the powerful voice of the LORD. I wonder how often in the period since then that we have been so grateful for the voice of the LORD speaking into our lives in so many ways. I know that I have been grateful.
One of the hymns in the Redemption Hymnal (88) and also in Making Melody (66) is ‘Speak, Lord, in thy stillness, while I wait on thee; Hushed my heart to listen in expectancy’ The music edition of the RH has as the verse for this hymn, 1 Samuel 3:9, ‘Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.’
I love wildlife and in particular birds, and I love to be out in the woodland and to just stop and listen for the sounds of the various birds as they sing out their chirpy little melodies, there is nothing more beautiful than to listen to a wren singing out, such a tiny bird with such a load chirp, or the song thrush, chirping out and waiting for the response of another one somewhere near. There is something particularly encouraging from the chirp of the birds in the early spring as it reminds us that the long, cold and dark days of winter are just about over and the warmth of spring, with new life and refreshed hope are about to dawn around us.
The song writer expresses something of this joy in the words ‘When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.’
But can I suggest that there is something more wonderful and more comforting than the chirp of the birds, or the gentle breeze, and it is to hear the sound of the voice of God as he speaks into our hearts and lives. Now, I know that in regard to the voice of the Lord, we do not always hear it as an audible sound such as we hear the chirp of the birds, but we do hear it metaphorically speaking as he speaks to us through the various means that he has chosen to do so, through his word, through the preaching of the word, through a hymn or a song, through a brother or sister, and in the context of the hymn I mentioned from the old hymnals. He chooses to speak to us as we silence our hearts in his presence, he speaks with a still small voice. We are living in a busy world, we always seem to be having to rush around here and there (I know this is limited at the moment, but things will return back to the busyness of before) how often do we just stop, be still, and wait in the presence of God to hear him speaking into our lives.
Perhaps you are not familiar with the hymn I quoted, look it up and take it and use it as a prayer and come to a place where you are hushed and not rushed, to allow God to speak into any gloom you may be feeling, into any sense of hopelessness you may have, allow him to speak into the busyness of your life, allow God to speak into the circumstances of your life, allow God to speak into the choices that you have to make, allow him to speak his will, his purpose, the direction you need to be heading as you move forward and through 2021 and beyond. ‘Be still my soul.’