They [Israelites] spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert?” Psalm 78:19 NIV
I know something about setting a table. After all, as a Junior High 4-H member, I earned a badge by giving a demonstration about how to set a table. Ever since that time, I find that I enjoy setting the table for guests more than just about any other preparation. I also like restaurants that use real tablecloths and cloth napkins, the kind of place that says, “We prepared for your visit.”
What does a beautiful table with lavish food represent, particularly in the Bible? I believe that most of all, it denotes a hospitable welcome. In verses that speak of God and the table, we see that the guests are honored by the preparation. Even when we live among our enemies, as in Psalm 23, God says to them in effect, “Look who I love and honor.” You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5).
As a result of the invitation to Christ’s table, we can delight in His lavish provision. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. (Song 2:3-5).
Not only have I set a table, I have lived in the desert. Oh, not a desert with sand and heat, but one of waiting for God, one of hospital corridors, one of surrounding enemies, and one of unfulfilled dreams. In these places, I come with faith to God, and say, “Spread me a table in this place,” and He does.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
David and Saul
The Psalms with all their varied loveliness, so adapted to human woe, their seraphic unfolding of the life of communion, could not have been, but for the inner crucifixion in the heart of the sweet singer of Israel brought about by the mad persecutions of Saul.
~F.J. Huegel
~F.J. Huegel
Thursday, February 3, 2011
More Pet Peeves
People who drive below the posted speed limit. This is especially true of old men in hats. If they have a dog on the front seat, it’s even worse!
Supermarket Rearrangements: Why are the Fruit Loops where the prune juice used to be? Can you help me find the toilet paper?
Meetings that are cancelled after I arrive for them. This is downright maddening, especially if they are cancelled because of bad weather!
Packing peanuts: Why do they stick to everything, and refuse to leave the box?
Those sticky advertisements that they plant smack-dab over the picture on the front page of the newspaper.
Supermarket Rearrangements: Why are the Fruit Loops where the prune juice used to be? Can you help me find the toilet paper?
Meetings that are cancelled after I arrive for them. This is downright maddening, especially if they are cancelled because of bad weather!
Packing peanuts: Why do they stick to everything, and refuse to leave the box?
Those sticky advertisements that they plant smack-dab over the picture on the front page of the newspaper.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Teaching Essentials
After an adult lifetime of teaching children how to sing, I must say that rhythm instruments, Orff instruments, even a piano can be useful items, but the main essentials still remain a good teacher, a blackboard and a fair sized room.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Fear and Love
[The Lord] fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him. Psalm 145:19-20.
C’mon, C’mon, C’mon. Go away, Go away, Go away. Most of us have watched children react when they see a clown, or some other potentially scary object by covering their eyes, but peering through their fingers. They really want to look, but they have a reserve about it.
Scripture tells us that we should fear God, but also love him. What characteristic causes these reactions? God is holy and we are not. As James Montgomery Boice writes, “Holiness intrigues us, as the unknown always does. We are drawn to it. But at the same time we are in danger of being undone, and fear being undone by the confrontation.” Yet if our love for God does not contain this fear, we haven’t really seen God as he is.
In my estimation, too many people don’t experience the “fear of God.” Some refer to him as “the man upstairs” or the “Big Daddy.” This kind of familiarity does not show that the person has really experienced the presence of the Holy One. Franz Delitzsch, a German Lutheran theologian of the 19th Century wrote, “Fear and love belong inseparable together. For fear without love is an unfree, servile disposition, and love without fear, bold-faced familiarity; the one dishonors the all-gracious One, and the other the all-exalted One.”
C’mon, C’mon, C’mon. Go away, Go away, Go away. Most of us have watched children react when they see a clown, or some other potentially scary object by covering their eyes, but peering through their fingers. They really want to look, but they have a reserve about it.
Scripture tells us that we should fear God, but also love him. What characteristic causes these reactions? God is holy and we are not. As James Montgomery Boice writes, “Holiness intrigues us, as the unknown always does. We are drawn to it. But at the same time we are in danger of being undone, and fear being undone by the confrontation.” Yet if our love for God does not contain this fear, we haven’t really seen God as he is.
In my estimation, too many people don’t experience the “fear of God.” Some refer to him as “the man upstairs” or the “Big Daddy.” This kind of familiarity does not show that the person has really experienced the presence of the Holy One. Franz Delitzsch, a German Lutheran theologian of the 19th Century wrote, “Fear and love belong inseparable together. For fear without love is an unfree, servile disposition, and love without fear, bold-faced familiarity; the one dishonors the all-gracious One, and the other the all-exalted One.”
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Damper Pedal
What one thing can reveal an accomplished pianist from an amateur? Something hardly noticeable, but absolutely essential to good playing—the damper pedal that helps connect one note to the next, warm up the tone of the phrase, and generally nuance the music. However, pedaling should never steal the show by blurring a passage and ruining the clarity of the sound. An accomplished pianist knows the amount of pedaling to use based on the style of the piece and the acoustics of the room in which he or she plays. Harmonic pedaling is good for hymns and chorales. Flutter pedaling works in baroque and classical pieces, and sonorous pedaling (a kind of sophisticated blurring) in impressionistic pieces.
Did you think pedaling mattered so much? Unless you particularly notice, that part of the playing rarely will catch your attention. Next time you watch a good pianist, take note of the ways in which he or she plays the pedals.
Did you think pedaling mattered so much? Unless you particularly notice, that part of the playing rarely will catch your attention. Next time you watch a good pianist, take note of the ways in which he or she plays the pedals.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Indelible Engraving
Our senior church choir is working on a piece of music set to the this wonderful text.
Write thy blessed name, O Lord, upon my heart, there to remain so indelibly engraven, that no prosperity, no adversity shall ever move me from thy love. Be thou to me a strong tower of defense, a conforter in tribulation, a deliverer in distress, a very present help in trouble, and a guide to heaven through the many temptations and dangers of this life. Amen.
Thomas a Kempis
Write thy blessed name, O Lord, upon my heart, there to remain so indelibly engraven, that no prosperity, no adversity shall ever move me from thy love. Be thou to me a strong tower of defense, a conforter in tribulation, a deliverer in distress, a very present help in trouble, and a guide to heaven through the many temptations and dangers of this life. Amen.
Thomas a Kempis
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