| “How great you are, Sovereign Lord!” |
| —2 Samuel 7:22a |
As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, after a lifelong experience in the church—first as a Fundamentalist and then as a mainstream Evangelical—I have come in these latter years to the point where my soul prefers a more liturgical worship experience. I would like to think that my rather eclectic musical tastes—for example, I’m an enormous fan of The Eagles, of the Heritage Singers, of Phil Keaggy, of George Beverly Shea, and of most classical music—allows me to appreciate a wide range of worship styles and music.
But, I have come to prefer a structured liturgical style of worship using traditional hymns. I find that this style draws me into the very core of the sense of coming into God’s Presence with a humility and with an awareness of His holiness.
As a result, every Sunday I am exposed to certain calls and responses. For example, in the church where I attend, following the reading of Scripture, the Liturgist concludes with the words, “The Word of the Lord”—to which the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.” Every time I say those words, I sense a deep joy in my heart that comes from knowing our God has given us His precious written Word to instruct us in righteousness and demonstrate to us His love and His great power.
Another litany of response that can occur whenever a Scripture passage tells of the greatness of God, the magnificence of His power, the overwhelming gift of His mercy, grace, and love, comes from Scripture itself in the words recorded in 2 Samuel 7:22:
“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”
After hearing a passage of Scripture that elevates us to the sense of God’s holy Presence and reminds us of how powerfully He has acted in our behalf, I can think of no more appropriate a response than to speak these words that King David used in one of his very special prayers. Of all people, David knew how worthy God was of honor and worship. David experienced over and over again a great outpouring of God’s grace.
David had witnessed what it meant to be chosen by God for a place of service in God’s Kingdom. He saw his enemies defeated and knew what it was to have God’s goodness toward him prompt the people to say, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.” David knew—he absolutely knew—he was totally unworthy. But, he also knew that for His own reasons God had made David worthy.
And that, dear ones, is the very state in which we are, as we walk this world knowing that we belong to God. In and of ourselves, we are utterly unworthy. There is nothing that commends us to God. We aren’t special. We aren’t better than others. In fact as sinners, we are the worst of the worst.
And yet, God has known us and chosen us before He created the world. He has made us His own before we even were born. He has revealed Himself to us by the Holy Spirit and irresistibly called us to Himself. Thus, when we hear of the greatness of God, we can surely respond with all humility and with great joy: “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”
Yes! When we hear the stories from God’s written Word of the wonders of His power and His grace, we have heard with our own ears how great our God really is. So, let’s remember that fact all through this new day and every new day, until we stand at His feet and bow before Him in heaven on that Great Day.
Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, January 20, 2017
