“Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!..
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death…
Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us…
O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord,
to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
… the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!” Psalm 68:4,19-20,28,32-35
“There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.” Deuteronomy 33:26
The poetic picture we get from the psalmist’s description of God’s activity draws upward the soul. The vast aridness of the desert, the eternal expanse of the skies, the mystery of roiling clouds, all stretch the imagination of the watchful Creator’s infiniteness. He is there- in all the stretch of place and atmosphere and experience- and He is here with us. Who can comprehend His limitless power? His benevolent care?
The places of our hearts are deep and secret. We carry longings that are undefinable, yet lingering. The Lord God hovers, and knows, and upholds. We endure deserts of hope, and health, and purpose, and our Lord rides above and close to watch, guide, relieve. We lose our sight in clouds of busyness, fear of the unknown, unanswered questions, uncertain futures, and there God Almighty rides to the known beyond and sings over us and shines His light for the next step. (Zephaniah 3:17)
What keeps us from acknowledging His intimate care and being encouraged by His presence? There is no place so dark, or shameful, or confusing, or personal, that He is not interested and active and close. Are we too stubborn to admit His ‘interference?’ Are we unwilling to accept He wants to involve Himself in our everyday?
Which places yearn for His anointing and inspiration? Where do we need His cleansing and renewal? Into what void of fellowship, fulfillment, or significance can we invite His revelation and power? Where might we see His glory if we would only look?
“O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
O tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams down from heaven in rain from above,
and sweetly sustains in ineffable love.” ~Robert Grant (1833), PEB
Lord, humble me before Your mighty presence, and ride over and in and above and before me always that I would rejoice in and reflect Your glory.
As the rain and snow 