Lydenstyd-oordenkings - 10 Maart 2010

Kom, laat ons jubel tot eer van die Here,
laat ons juig oor die rots by wie ons redding vind,
laat ons na Hom toe gaan met lof, laat ons Hom toejuig met lofsange,
want die Here is die magtige God, die groot koning oor al die gode.
Die dieptes van die aarde behoort aan Hom, die kruine van die berge is Syne.
Die see is Syne, Hy het dit gemaak; Sy hande het die land gevorm.

Kom ons val in eerbetoon voor Hom neer,
kom ons buig, kom ons kniel voor die Here ons Skepper!
Hy is ons God en ons is Sy volk, Sy kudde, Sy skape, deur Sy hand versorg.

As julle vandag maar na Hom wou luister:
"Moenie hardkoppig wees soos destyds by Meriba, soos die dag by Massa in die woestyn nie, waar julle voorvaders My uitgetart en My geduld beproef het, hoewel hulle gesien het wat Ek gedoen het. Veertig jaar lank het Ek 'n weersin in daardie geslag gehad, Ek het gesê: ‘Hulle is 'n moedswillige volk, hulle wil My paaie nie ken nie.' Daarom het Ek in my toorn 'n eed afgelê dat hulle nooit sou uitkom by die rusplek wat Ek hulle wou gee nie."

Ps 95:1-11 (NAV)

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.

Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways." So I declared on oath in My anger, "They shall never enter My rest."

Ps 95:1-11 (NIV)

Listen to Scripture

The early church read scripture aloud, so they were actually listening to it. They would then choose a phrase (or a sentence at the most) that impressed them. They would sit with that sentence or phrase without thinking of stages or following some predetermined schema, but just listening, repeating slowly the same short text over and over again. This receptive disposition enabled the Holy Spirit to expand their capacity to listen. As they listened, they might perceive a new depth to the text or an expanding meaning. A particular insight might also be singularly appropriate for them in their particular life situation or the events of the coming day. According to Scripture, the Spirit speaks to us every day.

Thomas Keating