Devotion • August 5
Today’s Scripture Reading
Psalm 99
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy. (NRSV)
Reflection
“Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning, our song shall rise to thee.” Yes, this psalmist must be humming along with us as we joyfully sing out that amazing hymn. The holiness of God, starting our day with a psalm such as this one, brings us into the majestic power of God.
There are times when we try to take such fullness, such awesomeness, such plenteous power that resides in God and bring God to our likeness. In this day when artificial intelligence awakens the possibility of a machine/robot/computer taking on more intelligence than a human, we have to pause. Yes, I pause and wonder if AI could be more powerful than the way we understand God! Could this creation at human hands bring about new life and thinking capacity that rivals the most far-reaching, earth-shaking awakening we can imagine? And where is God, the Creator, the One we worship, the Holiest of all in this world that simply astonishes us by the day?
I am quite convinced that the power of the human mind that sings through so many technical, medical, social, and spiritual advances is under the majesty and mystery of the Holy of Holies — God. And in every age the power of human life is under the mercy of the majestic light of God. Though much is still to know, and much is still awakening in this vast and uncertain world, the sure, steady power of God undergirds and overarches everything. Of this, I am very sure! Indeed, this is the Holy, holy, holy God to whom we sing and to whom we give deep adoration! Yes!
Prayer
On this day of all of our days, Holy God, let us pause and give thanks for your majesty, for the mystery of who you are. And let us sing, hum, and whistle the holy, holy, holy of the hymn with a knowing joy for your greatness and your vast reach to us, yes, us. Amen.
Written by Lucy Forster-Smith, Senior Associate Pastor
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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