Doxology

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  Praise Him all peoples here below.  Praise Him above ye heavenly host.  Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."–The Doxology

This is one of the classic hymns of Christianity, known as The Doxology.  This word, doxology, is a word of such beauty and depth that I should say once we understand its meaning we would all strive to live our entire lives doxologically.  

Doxology is the combination of two Greek words: doxa meaning belief held or glory, and logos meaning word or statement.  So, quite literally, a doxology is a statement of belief and glory.  In the highest sense, then, a true doxology is a statement of believing in God's glory.  It is a word of praise utterance, a declaration of the glory of God.  In a real sense, then, our lives should become living doxologies: walking, breathing testimonies to the glory of God.

At the end of these, O that we would live a life that sings out: Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Proverbs 21:21–The Pursuit of Righteousness

Proverbs 21:21–"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor."

This is an easily misunderstood proverb.  If one were not careful this verse could be interpreted out of context, thinking that the type of righteousness and kindness that is pursued is of little relevance to the discussion.  But I assure you that this is not the case.  What I mean to say is that our own righteousness is a worthless trinket compared to the surpassing awesomeness of God's righteousness, like the difference between a a grain of sand and sunshine.

Righteousness, of the kind and degree that this verse encourages, is wholly dependent upon God so that the effects–life, righteousness, and honor–would come to fruition in our lives.  Quite literally, it is as we receive the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:22) that we are able then to fulfill all of the requirements that a righteousness of this kind demands.

So in the end this verse is not about us striving to be more righteous or more kind.  This verse is, like nearly every passage of Scripture, about faith.  O that we would devote ourselves to the righteousness of God that only comes through faith!

Psalm 33:4-5–Declaring the Praise of the Lord

Psalm 33:4-5–"For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord."

What a beautiful testament to the great awesomeness of God!  But what stands out is that this beautiful phrase comes after the psalmist exhorts us to "Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!"  The point is that this statement is a not merely built upon the truths therein.  Rather, this testimony to the Lord flows out of the assumption that we will shout it!  In other words, the very essence of this verse is dependent upon the fact that it is an utterance of praise, a declaration of worship, an exclamation of His amazing awesomeness.  We would do well to keep in my the command to declare who He is just as quickly as we understand who He is.  Recognizing His nature is penultimate to exclaiming it.

Philippians 2:3–"Count Other More Significant than Yourself"

Philippians 2:3–"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."

It is a profound conviction to ask one's self how significant they think others may be in comparison to themselves.  I am certain that our modus operandi is to naturally consider ourselves as, obviously, the best or brightest. This pride is but a facade, a veil that each of us creates and puts on as a shade to cover the reality of our inadequacy.  But it is in the recognition of true genius that we see our own imbecility, just as it is in hearing a metronome that we can realize how off-beat we are.

The point in this discussion, the intent of Paul's inclusion of this statement is about focus, questioning our heart: who are we looking at as the standard for life, reality, truth?

If we are thinking of ourselves as the standard by which God's children should be weighed or measured than we are missing the point altogether, forgetting that we, ultimately, take our cues from Christ and Christ alone.  We will always think ourselves as less than others in beauty in light of the beauty of Christ.  We will always think ourselves weaker than others in comparison to the strength of Christ.

The point, if I may say it as emphatically as this, is that if we keep our gaze fixed on Christ then we will naturally humble ourselves before others.

This is the goal and our aim.

To God be the Glory!

Psalm 59:16–Praise With Weight

Psalm 59:16–"But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress."

Life is hard.  There is just no doubt about it.  Full of dramatic highs and lows, it is a roller coaster ride that pushes us to the very bounds of vertigo and can leave us seasick just as easily as it can build our confidence.  Even though we are so prone to ebb and flow, the one sure thing is that this life will undulate and the waves of sweet, bowing highs will be paired with despairing distress and emptiness.  The point is that throughout all of these times, though they may feel so very unstable and insecure, there is a sure Rock, a certain fixed point of Stability to whom we may always look to for safety and refuge.  No one, no where but God Himself.  That is it.  There is no where else to turn.

It is at this point of recognition that the psalmist utters: "But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress."

O that we would realize this too!

Psalm 8:1–How Majestic is Your Name!

Psalm 8:1–"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"

We live in a world and a culture that is driven with the singular goal in mind of making ourselves great, of having our stories heralded, and hearing our names shouted in exclamation.  There is such an emphasis on the importance of "making a name for one's self," that we have, in so many ways, forgotten who it is that, ultimately, has the greatest of all names and fames: God.

God's majesty and the power of His name, however, are attributed to Him not because of what He has done, although what He has done is truly worth praise and exaltation, rather, the greatness of God's name is a matter of character and constitution.  It is His nature that warrants the great majesty and glory.

This is in no way to discount the great things He has done–and that list is as infinite as He is–but instead is to point out the reality that God, unlike ourselves, is great because of who He is; He is the very definition of great.  All greatness, in the highest sense, is but a derivative of His, owing all the greatness attributed to the God who is for it is He and He alone who is, it turns out, great.

Truly, then, we can sing: "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"

For no other name can rightly deserve the status of God's name, for it is His name that defines all others.

Deut. 6:4-5–Love The Lord

Deuteronomy 6:4-5–"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

This is, in many ways, the very quintessence of Christianity.  It represents the very core, the central teaching and commandment of Christ.  There is such a tendency to conceive of Christianity as merely another religion full of rituals and dogma, but I submit that the real pivot, the essential hinge on which the whole of Christianity rests is a matter of love.  In fact, the most important question that any person must ask is a simple but convicting one: do I love God?

It would seem that this is of utmost importance to God just as it should be for us too...