~ Something from Psalms ~

The LORD is King! He is ruling with authority.

The LORD is ruling with great power.

Also, the world will not change.

Nobody will move it any more.

You LORD have been king for a very long time.

You were alive before the world started.

The rivers rose up, LORD,

the rivers rose up and made a loud noise.

The rivers rose up as a great storm.

But the LORD rules over everyone!

He is greater than all the noise of the waters,

stronger than the sea itself.

LORD, the rules that you make will remain.

Your house will always be beautiful because you are so good.

 

As I was preparing for Ladies' Bible Study last week, I came across a great on-line tool. I love my KJV bible - and it is my favorite text to memorize because the language is so beautiful. When I study, I prefer my NASB, probably because that was the bible I grew up using and it is as familiar to me as my own reflection in the mirror. But sometimes I struggle finding simple but accurate words to use when I know I'm teaching a study that will be translated into two, maybe three other languages. Last week, I stumbled into the EasyEnglish Translation (© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates, UK) with a vocabulary of about 1200 words, and it was a wonderful tool to use.

 

I've been enjoying reading through portions of this translation because with the more limited word choice, I'm finding that certain ideas just leap off the page, truths that I have missed in the past because I can easily become entranced by beautiful language or my familiarity with the passage results in skimming instead of careful reading. Studying Psalm 93 a bit the past week has been one of those "aha" moments.

 

In the on-line notes that went along with this psalm, I found the following treasure: 

In the Hebrew Bible, "The LORD is ruling" is "The LORD is wearing." He wears his authority and His power as clothes. Everyone can see them. The word "great" in Hebrew is really "belt." Nobody can take this power and authority away from God. This is because He has fastened the belt and nobody can undo it!

A few years back, the ladies and I worked through Colossians 3:12-14... talking about how God wants us to get dressed and one of the first things the ladies mentioned was that someone's clothing is often the first thing you notice about them. If that is the case, the first thing I need to notice or remember about my God is His authority over all and His belt of dynamic, unmatched power. Recognizing my absolute weakness compared to Him is the first step to entering a right relationship with Him and to maintaining a right relationship with Him. That shouldn't be hard to remember, but self-confidence and self-sufficiency - so prized in Western culture - are only a sliver away, if even that, from arrogance and pride and setting self on the throne... and somehow I think that when I try and do that, I look infinitely more ridiculously silly as little kids dressed up in their parents' clothes because I'm messing around with clothes that are custom made for Him alone.