Poetry Saturday—Before Jehovah’s Awesome Throne

September 14, 2019 — Craig T. Owens
Before Jehovah’s awesome throne,
O nations, bow with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone,
He can create, and He can destroy.


His sovereign power without our aid


Made us of clay and formed us men;


And when like wandering sheep we strayed,


He brought us to His fold again.




We are His people, we His care,


Our souls and all our mortal frame.


What lasting honors shall we rear,


Almighty Maker, to Your name?




We’ll crowd your gates with thankful songs,


High as the heavens our voices raise;


And earth with all its thousand tongues


Shall fill Your courts with sounding praise.




Wide as the world is Your command,


Vast as eternity Your love;


Firm as a rock Your truth shall stand


When rolling years shall cease to move. —Isaac Watts








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Poetry Saturday—I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath

August 31, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath;


and when my voice is lost in death,


praise shall employ my nobler powers.


My days of praise shall ne’er be past


while life and thought and being last,


or immortality endures.




How happy they whose hopes rely


on Israel’s God, who made the sky


and earth and seas with all their train;


whose truth forever stands secure,


who saves the oppressed and feeds the poor,


and none shall find God’s promise vain.




The Lord pours eyesight on the blind;


the Lord supports the fainting mind


and sends the laboring conscience peace.


God helps the stranger in distress,


the widowed and the parentless,


and grants the prisoner sweet release. —Isaac Watts








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City Of God

August 5, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




With “LONG LIVE THE KING!” still reverberating in our ears from Psalm 47, the sons of Korah ask us to zoom out a little farther to see how things begin to change now that the King has assumed His rightful place on the throne.


So Psalm 48 opens with the same praise with which Psalm 47 closed—Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise! The Hebrew word for great means massiveness! God is great beyond comprehension. He is larger than any problem. He is unique. He is uncontainable, unlimited, utterly beyond description. His glory is so bright that no sun is needed (see Revelation 21:23).


His glorious light reveals God’s beauty all around us. As C.S. Lewis noted, “I believe in God as I believe the sun has risen. Not because I can see it, but because by way of it I can see everything else.” Indeed, the psalmist reminds us that the city of our God has become “beautiful in its loftiness”(v. 2).


Look at how majestic our King is, and how majestic He makes His city, with phrases like the city of our God, the city of the Great King, and the city of the Lord Almighty. 


God makes His city secure forever. 


Selah—pause and consider that. 


About 1200 years after this psalm was written, Augustine would write his book called The City of God in which he contrasted the City of God with the City of Man. He noted how the Romans had gods they trusted in, but the Romans had to “rescue” their gods from the invading barbarians. Rome ultimately fell to those invading barbarians, but, Augustine said, the City of God can never fall because it isn’t a tangible place. The City of God resides inside God’s people. 


So notice that after the Selah the word “city” doesn’t appear anymore. Instead, we read about:


    

  • 

      

    • God’s temple (v. 9; the Hebrew word is heykal) means the palace of God the King
      • 

    • the villages of Judah (v. 11) is translated daughters in the KJV, but it actually means “the beloved apple of My eye” 
      • 

    • her towers (v. 12) are something that has grown up because it’s been nourished, not something built up by brick and mortar
      • 

    • her citadels (v. 13) are the highest and strongest places, which recalls God’s massiveness that we read in verse 1 
      • 

    

    • 



Here’s the question for all of us to ask—Is my heart a City of God or a City of Man? 


God does not dwell in palaces made by men. 


God dwells where He is enthroned! 


When people look at the “city” of my life, can they tell God is on the throne? The telling characteristics of a City of God are a city where…


    

  • … thoughts continually turn to my King and His unfailing love (v. 9)
    • 

  • … praise, rejoicing, and gladness are constantly rising to God (vv. 10, 11)
    • 

  • … the King is able to freely walk around His kingdom—anywhere He likes (v. 12)
    • 

  • … others can walk around and see what a God-enthroned life looks like (vv. 12, 13)
    • 



I’ll ask it again—Can people clearly see that God is the unrivaled King of your heart? 




Join me next Sunday as we continue our look at the Selahs in the Psalms. 






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Poetry Saturday—An Acrostic

August 3, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




I am a vile polluted lump of earth;


So I’ve continued ever since my birth;


Although Jehovah grace does daily give me,


As sure as this monster satan will deceive me.


Come therefore, Lord, from satan’s claws relieve me.


Wash me in Thy blood, O Christ,


And grace divine impart;


Then search and try the corners of my heart,


That I in all things may be fit to do


Service to Thee, and sing Thy praises too. —Isaac Watts (written at age 7)






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Awesome God, Awesome Praise

July 29, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




Last I week I told you how Hebrew poetry often puts the climax in the middle. In Psalm 47 that middle climax is in verse 5—God has ascended. This is one of seven “psalms of enthronement” in the Psalter. Since all of the Scripture points to Jesus, let’s look at the definition of this word ascend and see how it fits with Jesus: 



When a king is coronated—when he is heading toward his throne—we can expect the people to be happy. So the psalmist tells us that in God’s case the people are clapping and shouting (v. 1), telling God how awesome He is (v. 2), thanking Him for subduing their enemies (v. 3), and expressing their gratitude that He has established them as His people (v. 4). 


Then comes the Selah / Pause—what is happening during this pause? The King is being crowned. He has ascended to His rightful throne. So this is selah/pause is really a deep breath that’s about to explode in a crescendo of praise! 


Now there are shouts of joy (v. 5a). In our earthly understanding, it would be something like: “LONG LIVE THE KING!!” There is also a sounding of trumpets (v. 5b) which literally means a thundering of trumpets. And then there’s the singing—lots and lots of singing. In fact, the word sing appears five times in the next two verses. 


 From The Infographic Bible (click the image for more)


There are so many ways to say LONG LIVE THE KING—singing, dancing, raising our hands, falling down on our knees. shouting.  


Our God is praise-worthy. He is clap-worthy! He is sing-worthy! He is dance-worthy! He is shout-worthy! He is bowing-worthy! 


Our awesome God deserves awesome praise! 


Why does it seem that we are prone to worship so quietly? Perhaps we need to take it up a notch or two (or three or four). Perhaps we haven’t gazed into His awesome beauty enough to realize just how incredible He is! 


Do you think shouting praises to the King of kings is too undignified? Did you know that when the King of kings returns, He is going to shout and there is also going to be a thundering trumpet? For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16)! 


Here are 4 important lessons from this Psalm of Enthronement—


    

  1. God is the King of all kings, enthroned on the Throne above all thrones. He is worthy of your “undignified” praise and acclamation. 
    2. 

  2. God should always get your best praise. In verse 7 the phrase sing praises with understanding really means to sing with insight and skill. 
    3. 

  3. God deserves a holy vocabulary. We see the word awesome in verse 2. Every time this word is used in the Scripture, it’s speaking of God. So why would we use a word like this for something a hamburger!?!
    4. 

  4. All nations and kings and peoples and tribes will bow before God at the end. They will bow in either acclamation for their King, or in abject terror of the All-Righteous Judge. Let’s remain missional so more people in the end are crowning Him as their All-Merciful King. 
    5. 





I hope you can join me this next Sunday as we continue our series looking at the Selahs in the Psalms. 






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Poetry Saturday—O My Soul What Means This Sadness

May 18, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 




O my soul! what means this sadness?


Wherefore art thou thus cast down?


Let thy griefs be turned to gladness,


Bid thy restless fears be gone;


Look to Jesus, look to Jesus,


And rejoice in His dear name.




What though satan’s strong temptations


Vex and grieve thee day by day,


And thy sinful inclinations


Often fill thee with dismay;


Thou shalt conquer,


Through the Lamb’s redeeming blood.




Though ten thousand ills beset thee


From without and from within,


Jesus saith He’ll ne’er forget thee,


But will save from hell and sin.


He is faithful


To perform His gracious Word.




Though distresses now attend thee,


And thou tread’st the thorny road,


His right hand shall still defend thee;


Soon He’ll bring thee home to God.


Therefore praise Him,


Praise the great Redeemer’s name.




Oh that I could now adore Him


Like the heavenly host above,


Who forever bow before Him,


And unceasing sing His love.


Happy songsters!


When shall I your chorus join? —W.B. Bradbury






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Poetry Saturday—Awake My Soul

February 16, 2019 — Craig T. Owens 






Awake, my soul, and with the sun 


Thy daily stage of duty run; 


Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise, 


To pay thy morning sacrifice. 


Thy precious time misspent, redeem, 


Each present day thy last esteem, 


Improve thy talent with due care; 


For the great day thyself prepare. 


By influence of the Light divine 


Let thy own light to others shine. 


Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways 


In ardent love, and cheerful praise. 


In conversation be sincere; 


Keep conscience as the noontide clear; 


Think how all seeing God thy ways 


And all thy secret thoughts surveys. —Thomas Ken








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