Creator and Deliverer

Our pilgrim-Psalmist leads us in this confession this day: “Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8).

Hezekiah prayed to the Creator for deliverance: “Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, ‘O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, O Lord, our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God’” (Isaiah 37:15-20).

The Church prayed to the Creator for deliverance: “And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, ‘O Lord, it is You Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them [a quote from Nehemiah 9:6], Who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ [a quote from Psalm 2:1-2].” For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:24-32).

Church, as we gather today in His name in very different parts of this world, we are, nonetheless, surrounded by the Creation-reminder of His handiwork and its testimony to His preservation of His people.