We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.
- C.S. Lewis
Psalms in the Night…
With so many wonderful Biblical promises and powerful examples of God's interaction with mankind, see Psalms of Delight, Psalms in the Night are a way of exploring and sharing some of the difficult and challenging thoughts, feelings and experiences God's people encounter while endeavoring to fully enjoy His presence and power, protection and provision. In ever more genuine and meaningful ways. For themselves and their children, family and friends.
Psalms in the Night are written in concert with Psalms of Delight. Both series contain Modern Psalms meant to comfort and inspire those seeking the Omni-God revealed in Scripture.
What's Omnity Thinking? Summary
Psalms in the Night by Robert R. Pennington
Other than detractors, few dare verbalize the kind of questions that might be categorized as Divine criticism. It may well be that such thoughts, much less critiques, are indeed misplaced. This would explain why, with the exception of certain psalms, prophetic laments and complaints the Bible hardly encourages the practice. Yet given Omnity’s apparent silence and distance, particularly in the wake of pain and suffering, disease and death not to mention ubiquitous levels of temptation and deception, immorality and sin, who can deny that those rebelling and/or taking issue with God, not to mention the apathetic and confused, represent the vast majority inside and outside the church? Who better then to cautiously explore the subject than those honest enough to admit the obvious and more subtle truth from the vantage points of both God and man?
What's Omnity Thinking?
Modern Psalm in the Night 25
For literally infinite reasons, You have no need of counselors. You're the Alpha and Omega. Creator and Judge of all that has been, is and will be. Nevertheless, for millennia billions of hearts have been broken over the silence and distance between us. Why should there be such a great gulf? Why is it so challenging to work through what should be no brainer subjects like Your goodness and/or fairness? Why are humanity’s most powerful and brilliant, influential and famous writing God off in record numbers? More importantly, why do modern Christians invest so little time in quality prayer and Bible study, evangelism and discipleship as to have become practical agnostics?
When the answers to life’s ultimate questions seem out of reach, is there any point of poking around unpleasant realities, spiritual or otherwise? How is it that the Author of all truth, millennia after Christ’s miraculous ministry and costly atonement, remains more unsearchable than dark matter?
As for me, I can’t help seeking answers. Please accept my questioning as did Christ in an old obscure Jesus movie when instead of turning on Thomas He declares, “You doubt so much you must really want to be certain.”
I like to think my desire to fully understand and experience Your glorious truth, goodness and beauty, is based on faith in Your gracious invitations:
- “Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened. Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent? If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!” Matthew 7:7-11 Amplified Bible
- “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” Hebrews 4:14-16 The Message
I’m thankful Scripture assures You’re not willing that any should perish yet cognizant and concerned that immediately following Christ’s encouragement on prayer Jesus explained the road to eternal life was narrow and few find it. So pardon my importunity at this late hour, but I’m holding out hope for far more than the status quo of modern life and even modern Christianity. I’m envisioning the answer to Paul’s great prayer, that we might “know the love of Christ that exceeds knowledge” to the point to being “filled with all the fullness of God.”
In the pursuit of the temporal and eternal joy and glory of seeking and serving You, I’m with Albert Einstien who noted “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” And again, when asked by a Princeton doctoral student “What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?” Einstein replied, “Find out about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer.”
But who’s up to such a task? Hardly skeptical agnostics, much less antagonistic atheists. Nor would it seem the world’s religious who can’t agree on who You are, or scores of Christian sects each interpreting Scripture differently. Even among the rank and file of prophetic Christians, Omnity might have to look pretty hard to find those honest and equipped enough to fully appreciate who we are, and the mess we’re in. All the more given Scripture's very context is that of cosmic conflict theology. A war raging across three heavens. An incredible angelic rebellion marring the very history of eternity and reshaping mankind's.
And just who are You we are inexorably approaching at the rate of one second per second? Within Christianity alone there are hundreds of names. I AM… The Divine present tense participial. Lord God Almighty, God of Glory, Most High, Creator, Mighty One, Lord of Heaven and Earth. Lord of Angel Armies. Consuming Fire. Godhead. Father of Glory. Wonderful. Desire of Nations. Everlasting Father. King of Heaven. Redeemer. Counselor. Comforter. Holy One. Holy Spirit. Judge of all the Earth…
Even the highlights represent the most impressive short list ever compiled! Yet how words pale in comparison to the resplendent reality and transcendent glory they so crudely express. How can “Consuming Fire” hold a candle to the Creator of over 200 billion trillion suns and perhaps a trillion trillion planets. Many orbiting supermassive black holes averaging billions of years of age, degrees and solar masses? Equally understated, can “Redeemer” do justice to the unfathomable cost of Christ’s atonement, from incarnation and lowly birth to crucifixion and becoming sin that we might become the righteousness of God?
All in stark contrast to this fifty something thinking feeling sinful reed to whom a little water added or withheld can mean life or death. Alive today 'as a mist, here in the morning and burnt off by mid morning.' One of billions of soulish spirits in bloody meatcycles on skeletal sticks, often with a shocking lack of concern over the demands of our Maker to be fully obedient, productive and thankful. And this, even though for the most part mankind is born between urine and feces and for all our pomp will die as dogs.
So to recoup, You’re the Great I AM and I am nothing…great.
And Yet… Here we are. Most fearfully and wonderfully made in Your fearful and wonderful creation, living fearful and/or wonderful lives, facing fearful and/or wonderful futures and a most fearful or wonderful eternity.
And there You are, reigning from the heaven of heavens as we’re besieged on a fallen planet. Omnity: self existent, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and immutable. Humanity: mortals with a couple pounds of brain matter, autonomically alive, balanced on toes of flesh, here today and gone (only You know where) tomorrow. All together it’s nothing short of “inconceivable.” Such stark and ominous contrasts. Such fantastic and glorious opportunities.
And Yet… There’s a glitch. We’re not alone. We’ve a common Enemy. The “god of this world” and “prince and power of the air.” The original sinner, turned tempter, deceiver and accuser. For is it not written that he formally known as Lucifer or in Hebrew הילל בן־שׁחר Helel Ben-Shachar, who stands accusing and condemning us, first tempted and deceived us after having led a myriad of angels astray? Holy and glorious angels from Heaven above? To which end I would ask what chance do we have dear God to stand against so great an Adversary, his army and demonic resistance? Comparatively ancient beyond measure. Intelligent beyond comprehension. First among the archangels. Mighty in splendor. The pinnacle of Your creation eons before the singularity creating our universe 14 billion years ago:
- “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone-red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald—all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. “You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you.” Ezekiel 28:12-15
Immanuel, God with us, is truly good news. The honor is beyond fathoming. Grace and truth in the flesh. Eating and drinking. Laughing and crying. Seen and heard, touched and touching. Championing the poor and victimized. Born in a feeding trough, healing and saving without a place to lay His head. Abandoned and attacked, more misunderstood and marred than any man. Crucified and become sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. Resurrected and Resurrector. Baptizer with fire and the Holy Ghost. Your Spirit not only “with us” but “in us!”
In response to Heavens historic angelic rebellion overrunning onto and reshaping our own, You not only provided the costly atonement of Your Son but the promise of Your Spirit. Establishing Your Church on Pentecost, the miraculous fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit overflowed, inspiring such radical discipleship that in the course of time Christianity covered the globe with the Bible becoming the best seller of all time!
And Yet… We’re decimated. Sadly, as the Wedding of Canna which occasioned Christ’s debut miracle, modern Christianity seems to have all but run out of wine with few the wiser. A situation so dire that I’m forced to repeatedly ask “Lord, don’t you care we are perishing?”
After thirty years and seventy thousand hours of strategically seeking and serving You I fear 21st Century Christianity is at an impasse. Having failed the test of diligence, have we’ve grown spiritual insensitive, settling for presumption over faith? After over a thousand corporate albeit scarcely attended prayer meetings and many times as many private sessions, I fear our doubtful habits and dualism, not to mention serious sins such as immorality and abortion have left us powerless and thereby prayerless.
It appears that after using technology to grant us answers to the prayers off all past generations, not only are our blessings being cursed but by You in response to our closing our eyes and ears, hearts and minds to Your Holy Spirit. A warning You repeated throughout Scripture by the likes of Isaiah, Jesus and Paul:
- “And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Isaiah 6:9-10 NKJV
- “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Mark 7:5-7 NKJV
- “So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”’ “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.” Acts 28:25-28 NKJV
And Yet… Whosoever will may come. Throughout human history Your Spirit’s strived with men. Even within the ranks of Your own people the theme is as tragic as it is repeated through Old and New Testaments:
- “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal…” Genesis 6:3 NIV
- “He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.” Jeremiah 2:3-7 The Message
- “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 NIV
- “So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul. These words keep ringing in our ears: Today, please listen; don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.” Hebrews 3:12-14 The Message
- “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:32-35 NIV
- “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” Revelation 22:14-17
- “The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.”
- “Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.” Romans 13:8-10 The Message
O Lord. You knew all this from the beginning. You knew we’d be out matched and out gunned. Like Job, in some sort of cosmic bet, billions have been pitted against the architect of heaven’s rebellion. And the result? Outside of the salvation of an innumerable number of children and perhaps Scripture’s exclusions for the poor, it may be pretty much spiritual humanicide:
- “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’” Luke 13:22-27
- “God said, Heads up! The days are coming when I’ll set up a new plan for dealing with Israel and Judah. I’ll throw out the old plan I set up with their ancestors when I led them by the hand out of Egypt. They didn’t keep their part of the bargain, so I looked away and let it go. This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people. They won’t go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They’ll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great. They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.” Hebrews 8:7-12 MSG
While like Laodicea, Churchianity claims “we are rich and in need of nothing” yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Clearly we’re in over our heads. Take pity on Your creation. Products of fallen nature and nurture, foolishly exercising extremely brief and limited free will. Grant us a last chance by opening our eyes, ears and hearts. Give us the gift of repentance. Sow the seeds of pre-revival repentance and a new Pentecost with an immediate global impact of a million upper rooms.
Lord, I daily confess our corporate immorality and sin is unparalleled, but so is Your mercy and love. Like David’s murderous adultery with Bathsheba, through abortion alone we’ve been deceived into doing the unthinkable. Nevertheless, perhaps it’s not too late. In quantum hope of heeding Scripture’s prophetic advice, like Ezra “I’m too ashamed to look up.”
So in the Spirit of Paul’s greatest prayer, I’ll end by brokenly and fearfully approaching and reminding Omnity of David’s confession in Psalm 51. David, whom You uniquely declared to be a “man after My own heart.” David who by Your power and grace slew Goliath and established Your kingdom in Israel. David who designed and gathered Your temple’s treasure…
The same David who dualistically took and slept with Bathsheba the granddaughter of Ahithophel his greatest counselor, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah, both recorded as members of his elite personal guard. And this with multiple wives in his palace and any virgin in Israel at his beck and call. The same David who also numbered Israel inciting Your killing of 70,000. The same David who’s sin would result in the ruin of his life’s work by his heirs, including Solomon born to Bathsheba, also falling to temptation and deception.
In the face of causing such unmitigated devastation to those around him, David nonetheless recognized his betrayal of Your blessing and anointing was so inconceivable that the greatest and perhaps humanity’s only psalmist and prophet, warrior and king was forced to confess that by comparison “against You and You only have I sinned.” …Sounds like a perfect fit for modern Christianity.
Psalm 51: by David performed by Sons of Korah
Click here for YouTube version
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from all my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth;
Surely I was sinful at birth.
Surely you desire truth in the inward parts;
And you teach me wisdom,
wisdom in the innermost place.
With hyssop make me clean,
wash me whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, O LORD
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors you ways
and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from the guilt upon me,
LORD who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness
O LORD the God who saves me.
Open up my lips,
and I will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifices,
or surely I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in offerings, O LORD
but the sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit and a contrite heart.
The LORD will never despise a broken spirit
and a contrite heart.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
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