April 2: Christ is Lord of Heaven & Earth Forever
♫ Music:
Day 32 - Saturday, April 2
Title: CHRIST IS LORD OF HEAVEN & EARTH FOREVER
Scripture: Psalm 145
I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.
Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
Poetry:
A Hymn to the Evening
by Phillis Wheatley
Soon as the sun forsook the eastern main
The pealing thunder shook the heav'nly plain;
Majestic grandeur! From the zephyr's wing,
Exhales the incense of the blooming spring.
Soft purl the streams, the birds renew their notes,
And through the air their mingled music floats.
Through all the heav'ns what beauteous dies
are spread!
But the west glories in the deepest red:
So may our breasts with ev'ry virtue glow,
The living temples of our God below!
Fill'd with the praise of him who gives the light,
And draws the sable curtains of the night,
Let placid slumbers sooth each weary mind,
At morn to wake more heav'nly, more refin'd;
So shall the labours of the day begin
More pure, more guarded from the snares of sin.
Night's leaden sceptre seals my drowsy eyes,
Then cease, my song, till fair Aurora rise.
A TRULY RIGHTEOUS RULER
The governance by God over his creation is the focus of Psalm 145; the penultimate psalm in our list of seven Messianic Psalms. We greatly revere this treasure trove of characteristics and actions of our God. The psalm explains God’s actions with his creation enabling us to worship him. Here we see Christ, the creator of everything. We are aided in our viewing of the greatness of our creator with the help of today’s art, the Greek Orthodox icon of the great Pantocrator. He is the Righteous Ruler who cares for and tends the needs of all life.
The Pantocrator is the authority over all creation. There is no other, no one higher, no court of appeal beyond him. He is the one whom John saw and fell down “at his feet as though dead.” (Rev 1:17) The greatness of his majesty cannot be fully expressed, just as David, who wrote this psalm, could not fully express. He said of Christ, “he is great and greatly to be praised,” his “greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:3 ESV)
This Messianic psalm becomes real to us as a missiological psalm. It beckons us to commend his works and declare his mighty acts from one generation to another. We pass the faith on to others from every tongue, tribe, and nation. From verses 5 to 13, King David walks us through a panoply of words to help us get the picture of God’s greatness. We are to “meditate and speak of his awesome deeds, declare and sing aloud his righteousness, because the Lord is good to all. Even his works give thanks and speak of his glory and power, as we make known to the children of man the everlasting kingdom, enduring throughout all generations.” (ESV)
As I meditated on this psalm I could not help but think of the contrast with Machiavelli’s The Prince written in the 16th century, which influences politics today. His instructions to all who would rule a kingdom requires whatever it takes to get total power and maintain it, including cruelty and violence, if need be.
My career as a missionary allowed me to be soon on the scene after the revolt in Romania in 1990. I witnessed the aftermath of the overthrow of dictator Nicolea Ceausescu and his wife Elena. Their ignoble death is now recorded in history. The events that followed this deposed dictator give evidence of the Pantocrator taking charge of his creation. After the fall of Ceausescu, a certain Baptist pastor, whom the Securitati tried unsuccessfully twice to kill, ran for a seat in parliament. He won that seat and was able to begin Bible studies with other members of parliament…in Elena’s office! I’m reminded of Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”
And what is the nature of his reign? He oversees all he has made with constant care, compassion and love. He upholds those who fall, raises up those bowed down. All living things look to him to be fed as he opens his hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing. (V. 14-16) With the help of our poet, Phyllis Wheatley reminds us God gave nature a voice to serenade the universe in praise.
“From the zephyr's wing, Exhales the incense of the blooming spring.
Soft purl the streams, the birds renew their notes,
And through the air their mingled music floats.”
And from Travis Cottrell we may imbibe the glorious sound of this same majesty. Note especially the words,
“Faithful to Your promises
Loving to all you have made.
Your saints will sing for joy.
They’ll tell of the glory of your kingdom forever.”
Please accept my recommendation to sit quietly and listen to the music with your eyes closed to meditate and use your imagination to become absorbed in worship! Thanks be to God.
Prayer
Precious Lord, we acknowledge you are the Almighty and most holy Word of the Father. You pervade the whole of reality, everywhere unfolding your power and shining on all things visible and invisible. You sustain it all and bind it together in yourself. You leave nothing devoid of your power but give life and keep it in being throughout all of creation and in each individual creature.
We praise your name.
Amen.
––Adapted from Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, (373AD)
Dr. Glenn T. Collard
Director of Coram Deo International
Charlotte, North Carolina
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Christ Pantocrator
Dionysios Bouloubassis
2014–2016
20-ft. diameter
St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church
Hunt Valley, Maryland
The Christ Pantocrator is one of the most recognized depictions of Jesus. The Greek term “Pantocrator,” often translated as “All Powerful,” also means “to hold all things.” Christ’s left hand holds an open book, which traditionally represents the Gospels. The nuance of expression and sensitivity in this depiction of Christ is drawn from the ancient traditions of Christian iconography across both the East and the West. In this painting, Christ is surrounded by symbolic representations of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In Christian iconography, the evangelists are often represented by symbols originating from the four “living creatures” found in the apocalyptic visions of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1–2) and also in the book of Revelation (4:6–9), though neither passage links the creatures to the evangelists. The four creatures—collectively called the Tetramorph—represent different aspects of Christ’s nature. Matthew is symbolized by a winged man, or angel. Matthew’s gospel starts with Joseph’s genealogy from Abraham, a sign pointing to Jesus’ incarnation, and so to Christ’s human nature. Mark is symbolized by a winged lion—a figure of courage and monarchy that represents Jesus’ resurrection. Luke is symbolized by a winged ox or bull—a figure of sacrifice, service, and strength. John is symbolized by an eagle—a figure of the sky. The gospel of John presents Jesus’s ascension and Christ’s divine nature. The symbolism of representing the four evangelists as the four “living creatures” has developed over time, so that by the high middle ages it was extremely common to find these symbols in Christian art. It would later be more common to see the evangelists depicted as humans flanked by symbolic representation of their “creature.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Evangelists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetramorph
https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/the-tetramorph-in-christian-art/
https://www.nativityofthetheotokos.org/
About the Artist:
Dionysios Bouloubassis (b.1967) had developed a reputation as a talented iconographer in Greece before he immigrated to the United States in 2013. Over the past ten years, he has built up a new portfolio of work in America, which together with his art in churches in Greece, demonstrates his experience and skill in carrying on the Orthodox iconographic tradition. When Bouloubassis was a child, an iconographer-monk neighbor saw Dionsysios' artwork and recognizing his talent, and took the boy under his wing and schooled him in the Byzantine aesthetic of traditional iconography. When Bouloubassis was fourteen, the renowned iconographer George Kospidas took him on as an apprentice. The relationship lasted for a decade, even as Bouloubassis studied art at Athens Polytechnic, one of Greece's oldest universities. In late 2013, Bouloubassis received the commission to decorate the St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church. The Rev. Damaskinos Issa, Saint Mary's pastor, commented, "I've seen the iconography in Orthodox churches around the world, and Dionysios brings something unique—a different sense of color, a kind of expressiveness in his figures, that I don't see with other iconographers." Issa continued "When he's finished, there will be a powerful feeling that you are entering a sacred space, one that reflects the glory of the Kingdom."
https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-st-mary-antiochan-orthodox-church-iconographer-20160919-story.html
https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/a-byzantine-master-in-the-new-world-an-interview-with-iconographer-dionysios-bouloubassis/
About the Music:
“Forevermore - Psalm 145” from the album Found
Lyrics:
I will exalt you my God
And I will praise your name.
I will extol you Lord
Forever and ever.
Great are You Lord our father
Most worthy of our praise.
We sing your righteousness
Forever and ever.
Gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love
Faithful to Your promises
Loving to all you have made.
Your saints will sing for joy
They’ll tell of the glory
of your kingdom forever.
Generations will commend
your word to another.
They will speak of the splendor
of Your majesty.
They will tell of the power of
Your awesome works
They will celebrate your
Abundant goodness
And joyfully sing (3x)
I will exalt my God, My King
My mouth will speak in
praise of the Lord
Let every preacher praise his name
Forever and evermore,
Forevermore.
About the Performer/Composer:
Travis Cottrell is an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, singer/songwriter, author, and worship leader. Travis has known the joy of serving the Lord and leading his people in worship since he graduated from Belmont University in 1992. For the last eighteen years, Travis has served as worship leader at Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live conferences. He’s produced several albums for Living Proof. In addition to his writing, arranging, leading, and singing, Travis has managed to carve out time to record several solo projects, including the Dove award–winning Jesus Saves Live and When the Stars Burn Down, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Praise and Worship charts. Embracing the rich traditional hymns of his childhood, along with modern music of today, Travis uses a blended style of worship to help lead people from all generations and backgrounds into worship. His ministry is fueled by his desire to see this generation of the body of Christ come together for a place of unity in worship—using all of what God has ordained for his praise. Travis serves as worship pastor at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Cottrell
https://traviscottrell.com/music/
About the Poet:
Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) was the first African American author of a book of poetry. Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven and brought to North America. She was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston, Massachusetts, who taught her to read and write, and, upon seeing her talent, encouraged her poetry. In 1773, with financial support from the English Countess of Huntingdon, Phillis traveled to London to publish her first collection of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral—the first book written by a Black woman in America. It included a forward, signed by John Hancock and other Boston notables, as well as a portrait of Wheatley, all designed to prove that the work was indeed written by a Black woman. The publication of her book in London brought her fame both in England and the American colonies, and she was emancipated by the Wheatleys shortly after the publication of her book. However, the Wheatleys died shortly thereafter and, despite her earlier fame, Phillis Wheatley died in poverty and obscurity at the age of thirty-one. Wheatley’s poems reflected several influences on her life, among them the well-known poets she studied, pride in her African heritage, and her faith.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phillis-wheatley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillis_Wheatley
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Glenn T. Collard
Director of Coram Deo International
Charlotte, North Carolina
Glenn T. Collard is the director of Coram Deo International (Before the Face of God), in Charlotte, North Carolina, a ministry encouraging a resurgence of historic, authentic worship in today’s church. He writes, “The central concept of Coram Deo International is to live every day before the face of God. I believe this is the key to both the spiritual formation of the individual and of the resurgence of the church. The unifying principle is to anchor our current praxis to the ancient church fathers.” Glenn and his wife Dianne are the parents of three children. Their oldest son, Tim, is with the Lord. They have two other grown children, who are married and serving the Lord. They are the proud grandparents of five granddaughters.