My hope and prayer is that the two songs on my cd convey an accurately clear and defined view of the Lord. Its important that the songs align to scripture so that by hearing them, we might become more aware of what the Lord is truly like – His attributes and His character. By listening to the lyrics, I want minds to grasp what the Lord is telling us about Himself and how He is revealing Himself to us. The Lord is so great and wonderful that even a taste of His beauty changes lifes. Like the lyrics of the Christian band Unspoken, Lord “You only need a spark to start a whole blaze”. Referring to our tongues, James 3:5 tells us that a small spark sets a great forest to flame. This is a caution to guard the tongue because of its power. If so for men, how much more can a word from the Lord set life on the right course.
Father of Compassion: Sometimes what someone thinks of himself is very different to how others view him. For this song, the thought and words are taken from Exodus where the Lord talks about Himself to Moses. A. W. Tozer said “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” To be certain our view of the Lord is truthful, what better way than listening to what the Lord says about Himself (John 17:17). In Exodus 34:6, the Lord tells us about Himself. “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loveand faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
The Lord describes Himself as compassionate. He doesn’t require coaching, compelling or even the details of my situation to get His attention or for Him to hear my prayers. When I pray for others, it doesn’t require convincing the Lord of how good that person is for Him to honor my prayer. Actually, there are times I’m praying for someone and can’t remember their name. Does the Lord know who I’m referring to? He does. (Psalm 139:2) More than that, my Lord is the Father of Compassion. I can not possibly care more for others or myself more than He does or more than He always has – for that matter. (John 3: 16). Dwelling on His word, specifically the scripture in Exodus shapes my view of the Lord and aligns it to the truth.
Lord Hoseenu: This song was sparked by a Beth Moore study on the names of God. Hoseenu is a Hebrew word meaning “The One who made us” or “The Maker of us”.
The Lord as Creator spoke and the world was made out of nothing, ex nihilo – meaning out of nothing. (Genesis 1:1-2). Then there are times, the Lord makes a thing out of something. For example, when He made man out of the dust. (Genesis 2:7). Now, the Lord continues to make me.
In the names study, the Hebrew word “yatsar” (pronounced “yaw-TSAR”) was used to describe the idea of the making process. It may include fashioning, sculpting, shaping – yes and even squeezing. The Lord’s goal in the process is for me to reflect His glory. For this to happen, I believe that I must first see His glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18). If I have the desire to, there is so much of the Lord’s glory to see. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
Over the past few months, I’ve been noticing the Lord’s glory in clouds. Just look up to the sky and think about it. The white clouds are such a beautiful contrast to blue sky. They have no defined shape as far as I can tell. I don’t know if the clouds there yesterday are the same clouds there today or not. Do they have names? I’m going to have to Google it to see. How do they just hang there without dropping down on us? Yet when flying in a plane, I’m able to look down on the clouds without falling down into them. Is it just me or does anyone else ever think about walking on them? Then to think and that the Lord lead the people of Israel by a cloud. Or what about this….which is what got me thinking about clouds in the first place: the Lord ascended AND is coming back with clouds (Acts 1:9-11, Rev 1:7). That may speak to their importance.
The Lord is so wonderful. He not only shows but He also allows me to share in His glory. I ride His coat tails as I like to say. “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.” (Psalm 3:3). It just hit me as I was reading back over what I’d typed that Psalm 3:3 talks about the Lord lifting my head and thats what happens when I look up to see the Lord’s glory in the clouds. Ok….too much, too much!!!