Psalm Photos - 97 - Idolatry
Psalm 97
The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
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This Psalm hit home in a big way this morning when I read it. I immediately focused in on the images and idols spoken of as I remembered a comment made in our church's worship team meeting last night about the idolatry of our devices in our lives. Then I remembered a picture I took at the local Apple store that you see with this post. "Filled with wonder" and then images of iPhones overlaying scenes of awesome beauty...Wow...how that fits so perfectly with this Psalm. This Psalm paints such a picture of the awesome power of God and the Psalms before this one as well...yet there are still those who miss that God as they focus on the idols of gold, stone, etc - just like we have our heads down focused on our idols of plastic, glass, screens, and buttons. Lest anyone think I am throwing rocks at glass houses, this speaks to me as well. I love my "gadgets" - always have. I am one who has to intentionally focus on not checking email all the time or seeing what the latest is happening in the world on cnn.com or any of a host of other things, so this speaks to me in a big way. Next week, I will be attending a program that our denomination puts on for pastors - every communication from Credo has strongly encouraged participants to truly separate, leave cell phones in our bedrooms, etc. A good challenge and a good reminder.
God, may I see the wonder that is in you, the wonder that is all around, the wonder that you have blessed us with. May my wonder not be tied to a screen of pixels, angry birds, and emails.