People

Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-093 Sunday 12 May 2002

Reading: PSALM 111 – THE MARK OF GOD’S PEOPLE

(From ‘Encounter with God’ Bible Reading Notes)

Come as you are, for the Lord welcomes you into his presence.

As they met for worship long ago, a tiny fellowship in ancient Corinth heard this challenge from the apostle Paul: ‘Think of what you were when you were called. Not many were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth’.(1 Cor 1:26) While hardly a flattering description, the same could be said about God’s people in every age, and although barely mentioning his congregation, the psalmist explains why this is so.

He too has entered into the assembly of the faithful (v 1), but his attention is directed elsewhere. All his energy is taken up with recounting the saving works of the Lord the covenant that they establish and above all, the character of the God that they reveal. As he worships, the psalmist recites the historical ‘what’ and the eternal ‘why’ that provide the anchor and bedrock of his faith.

Indeed this is what distinguishes God’s people, that they never tire of celebrating the one who has redeemed them. This is their identity and their reason for praise: that God’s mercy and compassion, God’s faithfulness and provision, have made them what they are. The congregation itself is all but hidden behind this torrent of awe and sacred admiration. But their role is clear nonetheless: to ‘extol the Lord’ (v 1), to ‘ponder’ his works (v 2), to ‘remember’ his wonders (v 4), to ‘fear’ the Lord and to ‘follow’ his precepts (v 10).

Of course, it is easy to be distracted by other concerns. Too often we are more aware of ourselves and our manner of worship when in fact the glorious majesty of the God we worship, the greatness of his works, and the goodness of his ways reduce such concerns to relative insignificance.

What bothers you most about the worship or worshippers in your congregation? How important do such concerns appear in light of this psalm?

– Rev Dr Michael Knowles

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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