2506AFC020735 – The sinners and their Angels
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Psalm 138:1 – (CPDV) – 1 Of David himself. O Lord, I will confess to you with my whole heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth. I will sing psalms to you in the sight of the Angels. (Check this Bible version out. It’s a great source and it is FREE!)
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! It was tempting today to grab the concept of “fishers of men” for this post, but when I tried to start that Someone said something like, “Nope. We’re going to go with Angels this week.” OK, some changes had to be made. That said, here we go!
About the picture: Imagine that each dot is a set of 10,000 pages that look like this one in the image above, and that each dot on each page represents one angel. That’s a beginning. Then imagine a Google of Googles (one Google is 6.023×10^23 individuals) of such collections of 10000 pages, and well, that’s still just a beginning. Now, think about all of those angels singing with you, “Holy. Holy. Holy LORD, God of power and might. Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory! Hosanna in the Highest!…
All of us can most likely remember hearing the following passages:
Isaiah 6:3 – 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Revelation 4:8 – 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,
“Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.”
Luke 2:13-14 – 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,* praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
I want to share with you a lyric of a tune I wrote in 2006. It’s based on my favorite Psalm, Psalm 138. The melody is in the genre of four-part gospel harmony as you would hear from groups like The Florida Boys. Anyway, I’m trying to memorize it because it’s fun to sing. If you get a chance, look up Psalm 138 and read it for yourself. I just love the idea of standing with the angels and lifting up my hands to praise God. That’s quite a picture! So, enough of that. Here are the lyrics. Have a great weekend, beloved, and maybe you can make up your own tune for this little ditty! In my version, the chorus and the verse use the same tune, so that makes it easier to sing.
CHORUS:
In the presence of the Angels I will sing your praise.
I will lift up my hands And I will bless your holy name.
I will bow down before You And your Temple on High.
I will sing of your promises, Your faithfulness and love.
1: I know that you hear me Every time I pray.
You strengthen my heart And you get me through the day.
All of Earth’s Kings and Princes And Peoples of all lands
Praise your Name for your Promises. They shout, and clap their hands.
And …: Chorus
2: Father, God Almighty, I live safely in your care.
The proud and the wicked You point out everywhere.
You bless the meek and lowly, And fill them with your Light.
To the fury of my enemies You lead me in my fight.
So …: Chorus
3: Though danger’s all around me, And enemies close in
Your strong right hand will save me. You are with me to the end.
Your love endures forever! You will not abandon me!
I will sing your praise forever In eternal harmony!
For …: Chorus
Did you know that when you sing praise to God, the Angels join in? They already know all the words and melodies! Next time you sing “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, Lord God of Hosts …” listen for the angels – in particular your angel – then imagine singing with a google of googles of angels singing with you. Our Guardian Angels are right by each and every one of us as we sing our praises to God. Our Guardian Angels? Of course! In the Common Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the Priest says, “And so with the Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of Heaven. We sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and Earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest Blesséd is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”
Now, Imagine you could look into that Throne Room and see THIS!
Art used by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992, 2002. To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://revelationillustrated.com. Contact us and let us know which one you need to use. If you wish to use more than one, you should purchase the 40 image CD .You will also be required to add a right-click copy protection code to each image. For use as wallpaper on your computer, just let us know which one you need. For use as a screensaver, please go here where you can get information on the new “Revelation Illustrated” screensaver program. Now, let’s pick up that asterisk in the Key Verse from Luke.
* There is a special word used to describe “the heavenly host.” That Greek word is “stratia” (στρατιά) primarily refers to an organized group of soldiers, an army, or a host. In the New Testament, it is often used metaphorically to describe the heavenly host or the angelic armies of God. The term conveys the idea of a structured and powerful force, often under divine command. In Jewish and early Christian thought, the heavenly host was seen as a divine army led by God, ready to execute His will. This imagery is rooted in the Old Testament, where God is often depicted as a warrior leading His people to victory. When we say,” God of Hosts,” that’s not limited to just the Warrior Angels of the Army of God. In that phrase, “hosts” means EVERY thing God created! From strings and quarks, and quasars to galaxies and worlds and moons, to Dick and Jane and Spot and Puff, and even you and me.
Yes! God created the universe out of Love for Love because God IS love. And God Loves you, Loves me, Loves all of us so much that he chose to include us in his Absolutely Perfect Plan! Please remember that and let it inspire your Praise when you give God the Glory.
Now, I want to share a brief look at someone who was a very unlikely hero in the history of Israel, a brave, clever, woman named Jael [Jael (/ˈdʒeɪəl/) or Yael (/ˈjeɪəl/’ Hebrew: יָעֵל Yāʿēl)]. You can find her story in the book of Judges 4-5. There we learn about Canaanite King name Jabin from the region of Galilee who harassed and oppressed Israel for 20 years. His commander-in-chief was a general f his army whose name as Sisera. Also at that time there was a prophetess named Deborah who told the leader of Israel’s forces, Barak, that on a certain day, God would deliver Isreal from Jabin. Barak was to take 10,000 soldiers and attack Sisera’s forces from a position on Mount Tabor. Barak won a decisive battle, but Sisera jumped out of his iron war-chariot and slipped away. All of his subordinates were slain by Barak.
Sisera ran away on foot to Kedesh, which was west of the Sea of Galilee. Jael saw him – and of course she recognized him because he’d been around for so many years causing trouble – and she invited him to hide in the tent of her husband, Heber the Kenite. The Kenites were decedents of Moses’ father-in-law (Jethro). Heber’s clan had separated from the territory of the Kenites and had negotiated a treaty with the enemy king, Jabin. Sisera apparently knew this and felt safe to hide in that tent. Jael gave him a skin of milk when he asked for something to quench his thirst. He was worn out from the battle and wanted to rest, so Jael covered him with a rug or a blanket by which he apparently felt she was concealing him. He eventually fell asleep, and as he slept, Jael picked up a tent peg and – hammered it through his temple, right through his head, and straight into the ground!
Soon thereafter, Barak, the Israelite commander came to that area looking for Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and told him to come see where Sisera could be found. In Judges 4:23 we read – 23 So on that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. Chapter 5 of Judges is the Song (canticle) of Deborah celebrating the act of Jael and the end of Jabin’s oppressions. That glorious song ends in Judges 5:31 –
31 “So perish all your enemies, O Lord!
But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.”
This clever, brave woman, Jael, was not a warrior, not a leader in Israel, her husband was a collaborator with their enemy, and yet God chose her to deliver Israel from their oppressor. He chose to prepare her for that brave act in the same moment he said “Let there be …” in the same way that he chose to create you and me – because of Love. Because of Love, he also sent his Only Begotten Son to suffer and die for the sins of the World which is supposed to be part of the Hosts of God and should be praising him forever. When sin entered into our history, God’s Love was nailed to the Cross to end the oppression of the Devil; that oppression is sin and Death. That is the magnitude and majesty of God’s Grace. In §388 the CCC shows us, “We must know Christ as the source of grace in order to know Adam as the source of sin. The Spirit-Paraclete, sent by the risen Christ, came to “convict the world concerning sin” by revealing him who is its Redeemer.” (↔ Music Link)
Will you, will I, will we be willing to be like Jael – an unlikely choice for an important job – and live according to God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan and not our own? Remember, sin is rebellion against God. We sin when our actions say, “God I know what you want, but I don’t want that. I want what I want.” Are we willing to do all that we ought to do instead of all that we can do? Can we, will we give Primacy to our Creator instead of his creation? Will we say, “God my Father, I want what you want, and only what you want.”? Jael, Deborah, and Barak did what God wanted. Sisera didn’t. perhaps next week we can look into the actions of Judith.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
