“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”
~ Psalm 145:3
Hi James and Ellen,
Where do you think that David was or what he was doing when he scribed Psalm 145? Your grandpaa thinks that when David scribed this praise psalm song, that he had just had something very blessed happen in his life – or that he had just had witnessed something very splendid – or that he had just had experienced a euphoric interaction with God. How do you feel after you have been surprised with a gift that you had really wanted but that you were not expecting to get? How do you feel after you have found yourselves being spectators of an unanticipated display of nature’s beauty? How do you feel after you have spent a quiet time of sitting and mediating in God’s warm and welcoming presence? Your grandpaa has many unforgettable memories of receiving blessing gifts from God that he never expected to receive. Your grandpaa has many memorable memories of unexpectedly being a witness to God showing off His magnificent glory through His unlimited creativity in the skies and on planet Earth. Your grandpaa has many treasured memories of God conversing with him in an affirming quiet voice. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have had God bless them with two kid and two grandkid gifts. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have had God bless them with guy, gal and kid gifts Who He – as God the Spirit, prompted to make decisions of faith as your grandmaa and grandpaa – through the leading of God – as God the Spirit, shared with them the Good News which directed them to believe in what God – as God the Son, did specifically and sacrificially for them through His excruciating death on a crude cross and through an unrivaled resurrection of God – as God the Son, from the tomb where He was buried. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have learned that they need to be always ready to be an audience to a majestic demonstration of God – as God the Father, displaying His awesome splendor and exclusive power. Your grandmaa and grandpaa will always remember the night that they spent in a railroad town called Chochís waiting for a freight train to arrive. As your grandmaa, grandpaa and the team of college age guys and gals who had been in Bolivia for about seven weeks on a South America Mission summer team stood and sat next to the railroad tracks that passed through Chochís, God – as God the Father, entertained and engrossed everyone with darting meteorites that would flash randomly and flee in different directions across and through the quiet, cool dark night sky. Your grandmaa and grandpaa will always remember the cold January days that they spent in Three Hills, Alberta as they orientated the new Canadian South American Mission Executive Director to the mission’s operational expectations. For a number of days and nights while your grandmaa and grandpaa were in Three Hills, there was no breeze or wind. During the quiet, very cold days and nights that your grandmaa and grandpaa spent in Three Hills – where they were relocating the Canadian South American Mission office from Guelph, Ontario where the Canadian South American Mission was formed about eight years earlier, a frosting of hoar frost kept growing on bushes, tree branches, telephone wires and on anything and everything that did not move. The daily, growing fragile blankets of hoar frost that covered everything that did not move belied gravity and left an imprinted image in the minds of your grandmaa and grandpaa of the astounding beauty and extraordinary care that God – as God the Father, has in and for His ever unfolding, dynamic creation. Your grandpaa will always remember the call that God – as God the Spirit, gave to him and embedded in his heart. Your grandpaa will always remember what a missionary – Larry Wright, said as he spoke one evening to the guys and gals who showed up at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church that is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota to hear him speak. Larry Wright at the end of his message that evening said that kids at times – after they have heard God – as God the Spirit, calling them to be missionaries would have their parents or peers discourage them from pursuing being a missionary. Larry Wright asked parents to stand up to show their kids that they would support them if any one of them heard the still, quiet voice of God – as God the Spirit, calling him or her to being one day a missionary. When your grandpaa heard Larry Wright say this about parents, your grandpaa heard God – as God the Spirit, telling him that he and your grandmaa were still young enough to be missionaries and that they could take your dad and your Aunt Lynn with them to live in another country. Your grandpaa stayed sitting in one of the church’s back pews where he almost always sat with your grandmaa.
David was a creative psalm song writer. This praise song psalm is an acrostic masterpiece. Even though it seems as if David could not wait to heap praises on God in this psalm song, David was very methodical on how he began scripting each line of this praise psalm song. Even though it seems as if David was spontaneously praising God throughout this psalm song, David was very meticulous in how he began crafting each line of this praise psalm song. Even though it seems as if David could not gush out enough praises to God in this psalm song, David was very mindful of being just a mere guy who was in the presence of an awesome, benevolent Being as he began scribing each line of this praise psalm song. David is very clear about his clear understanding of Who God is when he wrote in verse 3, “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”
What great things has God already shown you? What good things has God already gifted you? Your grandmaa and grandpaa are praying that you will always be sensing how God – as God the Spirit, is always helping you to get to know Him as God the Father, Son and Spirit – just as God – as God the Spirit, helped David to get to know God.
Psalm 145 (659)