Possibly my all time favorite Christian CD / album is RICH MULLINS, "The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume Two," recorded in 1992. I recommend it to anyone. If you have not discovered Rich Mullins, he stands at the top when it comes to spiritually powerful and poetic Christian lyrics. Unfortunately, he died in 1997 in a car accident.
Lyrics to the two songs below connect strongly with our studies in Isaiah, the first on WAITING and the second on FAITH with a strong statement on JUSTICE. The lyrics express truth in poetic form, and the message is much more powerful if you can listen to the songs as performed by Rich. It would be well worth the price of download.
WAITING (with reference to Isaiah 40:31)
Stand on the corner, I watch my breath freeze in the air
See how it lifts and then vanishes
But I know You're still there
Well, I've got nowhere else to go
'Cause the only life that I know comes from You
And I can't walk away
Though the truth is that it can be so hard to wait
When a million voices whisper, and they tell me I should leave
Into the shadows that the moon casts
On these alleys and these streets
But I know that chasing shadows won't get me anywhere
'Cause I've been there
So I stand on the promise, 'cause I know that the promise is sure
That it comes from beyond us and tells us again
That there's a whole 'nother world
Well, the one I'm in keeps spinning 'round
But I want to stay right here 'cause I found You
And I can't walk away
Though the truth is that it can be so hard to wait
When a million voices whisper, and they tell me I should leave
Into the shadows that the moon casts
On these alleys and these streets
But I know that chasing shadows won't get me anywhere
'Cause I've been there
So I'm waiting for You Jesus
'Cause I know that those who wait
They will mount with wings like eagles
They will run and not grow faint
They will walk and not grow weary
Their strength will be renewed
Coming from You
So I wait
I'm waiting for You
Waiting for You
So come back soon
I'm waiting for You
THE JUST SHALL LIVE
I know the just shall live
I know the just shall live
I know the just shall live
By faith
'Cause You won't let Your Holy One
No, You won't let Your Holy One
You won't let Your Holy One
See corruption in the grave
Because He put His trust in You
Because He put His trust in You
Because He put His trust in You
Many shall be saved
And I know that You will raise them up
I know that You will raise them up
I know that You will raise them up
On the last day
For the Lord looks down on the sons of men
To hear the cries of the innocent
And the guilty will not stand
For the day of reckoning soon will come
And the whole world will see justice done
By the Lord's almighty hand
So I'm telling you the just shall live
I know the just shall live
I know the just shall live
By faith
And You will raise them up
I know that You will raise them up
That You will raise them up
On the last day
And the prayers stand where the fighters fell
And time testifies with the tale that it tells
That the meek shall inherit the earth
And the Church advances on the gates of hell
And she clings to a light that will not be quelled
By the kingdoms of this world
I'm telling you the just shall live
I know the just shall live
I know the just shall live
By faith
And You will raise them up
I know that You will raise them up
You will raise them up
On the last day
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
BC # 17 - Expecting God .. and Blue Skies - Isaiah 51:4-6
Expecting God – Isaiah 51
“Lord, the sky’s still blue, for my hope is in You, You’re my joy, You’re the dream that’s still alive … Like the wind at my back and the sun on my face; You are life You are grace You are blue skies.” The lyrics to this Point of Grace song connect with the theme of hope and expectancy in Isaiah, especially the familiar 40:28-31 .. “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power … Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Hope and expectancy is frequently connected with the “coastlands” or “islands” in these texts. One interpretation is that the islands refers to the Gentiles, and this is how the verse was carried over into the New Testament in Matthew 12:18-21 – “And in His name, the Gentiles will hope.” (See Isaiah 42:4 - “He will not be disheartened or crushed, until he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait expectantly for His law.”)
In a general sense, the use of “coastlands” or “islands” our texts refers to those who wait for the law and the justice of God to come to their rescue. This turns a common human use of law and justice on its head, for often people use these concepts to beat down others. But here the prophet uses the imagery of God’s arm as means of rescue to those whose hope is in His deliverance.
What ties together the justice, righteousness, and the law of God by the arm of God, and the expectancy of the people? The justice and righteousness of God is worked out in human relationships. God will “judge the peoples” based in part on their relationships with others. And the expectancy of those who hope in God is that the arm of God will be the salvation of God’s own, the comfort and joy, gladness and thanksgiving of God’s people, and the destruction of evil and the evildoer.
Consider these reflections on human relations by Abraham J. Heschel:
“Righteousness is not just a value; it is God’s part of human life, God’s stake in human history. Perhaps it is because the suffering of man is a blot upon God’s conscience; because it is in relations between man and man that God is at stake. … the infamy of a wicked act is infinitely greater than we are able to imagine… People act as they please, doing what is vile, abusing the weak, not realizing that they are fighting God, affronting the divine, or that the oppression of man is a humiliation of God. “He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, He who is kind to the needy honors Him. Proverbs 14:31, 17:5”
The greater masterpiece (of God’s work) is still in the process of being created … history. For accomplishing His grand design, God needs the help of man. Man is and has the instrument of God … Life is clay, and righteousness the mold in which God wants history to be shaped. But humans deform the shape. … The world is full of iniquity, injustice, and idolatry … but God needs mercy, righteousness; His needs cannot be satisfied in temples … but in history. It is within the realm of history that man is charged with God’s mission.
Justice is a transcendent demand … It is not only a relationship between man and man, it is an act involving God … Justice is His line, righteousness His plummet. It is not one of His ways, but in all His ways.”
Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets, p. 198
51:4-5 Pay attention to Me, O my people; and give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples; My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth. And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly. Lift your eyes to the sky …”
The blue skies …
“Lord, the sky’s still blue, for my hope is in You, You’re my joy, You’re the dream that’s still alive … Like the wind at my back and the sun on my face; You are life You are grace You are blue skies.” The lyrics to this Point of Grace song connect with the theme of hope and expectancy in Isaiah, especially the familiar 40:28-31 .. “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power … Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Hope and expectancy is frequently connected with the “coastlands” or “islands” in these texts. One interpretation is that the islands refers to the Gentiles, and this is how the verse was carried over into the New Testament in Matthew 12:18-21 – “And in His name, the Gentiles will hope.” (See Isaiah 42:4 - “He will not be disheartened or crushed, until he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait expectantly for His law.”)
In a general sense, the use of “coastlands” or “islands” our texts refers to those who wait for the law and the justice of God to come to their rescue. This turns a common human use of law and justice on its head, for often people use these concepts to beat down others. But here the prophet uses the imagery of God’s arm as means of rescue to those whose hope is in His deliverance.
What ties together the justice, righteousness, and the law of God by the arm of God, and the expectancy of the people? The justice and righteousness of God is worked out in human relationships. God will “judge the peoples” based in part on their relationships with others. And the expectancy of those who hope in God is that the arm of God will be the salvation of God’s own, the comfort and joy, gladness and thanksgiving of God’s people, and the destruction of evil and the evildoer.
Consider these reflections on human relations by Abraham J. Heschel:
“Righteousness is not just a value; it is God’s part of human life, God’s stake in human history. Perhaps it is because the suffering of man is a blot upon God’s conscience; because it is in relations between man and man that God is at stake. … the infamy of a wicked act is infinitely greater than we are able to imagine… People act as they please, doing what is vile, abusing the weak, not realizing that they are fighting God, affronting the divine, or that the oppression of man is a humiliation of God. “He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, He who is kind to the needy honors Him. Proverbs 14:31, 17:5”
The greater masterpiece (of God’s work) is still in the process of being created … history. For accomplishing His grand design, God needs the help of man. Man is and has the instrument of God … Life is clay, and righteousness the mold in which God wants history to be shaped. But humans deform the shape. … The world is full of iniquity, injustice, and idolatry … but God needs mercy, righteousness; His needs cannot be satisfied in temples … but in history. It is within the realm of history that man is charged with God’s mission.
Justice is a transcendent demand … It is not only a relationship between man and man, it is an act involving God … Justice is His line, righteousness His plummet. It is not one of His ways, but in all His ways.”
Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets, p. 198
51:4-5 Pay attention to Me, O my people; and give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples; My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth. And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly. Lift your eyes to the sky …”
The blue skies …
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