Psalm 97:5

Psalm 97:5

The mountains melt before Him

Mountains are glorious structures that dominate vast areas of the earth. Countless people pull back the curtains every morning and there are the familiar scenes, towering peaks that reach to the heavens and that proclaim stability and strength. Throughout the ages, many have believed that the higher up a mountain you climbed, the closer to God you became. Moses and Elijah both discovered this, but it was not only believers in Elohim who took this view. Many, if not all the ancient religions, built their altars and their temples on high places to symbolise the difference between earthly men and heavenly gods. The Israelites, of course, pitched the Tabernacle at Shiloh for many years (near Mt Ebal and Mt Gerizim), David moved it to Zion and Solomon built his Temple on Mt Moriah. Jesus was transfigured probably on Mt Hermon and He left this world from the Mount of Olives. All of these peaks are familiar in the Biblical accounts, and they all have associations with the presence of the Lord God. 

What has all of that to do with today’s verse? Well, the psalm writer is telling us that even these formidable and apparently immoveable objects that tower over the earth are as nothing to God. One breath, one hint of His presence and even the mountains melt like wax. Perhaps volcanos like Etna and Vesuvius were known to the writer and singers of this song? They knew that the Lord God could take the most stable object on the planet’s surface and melt it like wax. Jesus tells us, “If anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Mark 11:23. Don’t let the mountains of life scare you and do not let them stand in your way, your faith in Almighty God can move them. Failing that, climb over them and praise God’s holy name as you do so! Hallelujah!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more