WATCHWORD:
1 In the beginning God sang the heavens and the earth into existence.] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was singing over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God sang, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he sang division, separating the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day that God sang into existence. Genesis 1:1-5 Leonard Bernstein Version.
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 NIV
Meditation:
Sounds of Silence
Granted, Leonard Bernstein Version is not a recognized version of the Bible, yet I believe that Bernstein would support the wording of Genesis 1. He believed that ‘sang’ was a better translation than ‘said’ in this Genesis passage. Friedrich Nietzsche said that without music life would be miserable, in fact life would not exist at all. I agree with both statements. Do you?
Mark Batterson, in his book, A Million Little Miracles, said this: “God sang the universe into existence, and it’s that song that sustains the universe. That first song – “Let there be light” – is still creating galaxies at the edge of the universe. But wait – there’s more. God rejoices over us with singing, Zephaniah 3:17. God is singing songs of deliverance all around us all the time! Psalm 32:7 These songs may be inaudible to human ears, but that doesn’t make them any less real.”
But I wonder if we missed the songs of God because we choose not to listen. If we believe God created the universe, and yet God is a personal spirit within us, why are we not listening carefully to the murmurings that come to us during our time with God, whenever we sit and surrender to the Lord, even in silence. I wonder if we sometimes miss the Spirit speaking to us in the words and music of secular songs, the beauty of art, and the majesty in scenes of nature. Do we miss the deeper meaning, the impact that each has on us?
Do you remember the 1967 movie The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft? The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel was one of the songs featured. “Hello darkness, my old friend I’ve come to talk with you again because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping and the vision that was planted in my brain still remains, within the sound of silence.”
I am fairly sure that Paul Simon did not intend to communicate a spiritual message in the lyrics, and yet, when I read the words and hear the music, I do sense a spiritual message. Darkness is our personal sadness, our separation from God that keeps returning as we slip from His presence. The “vision” is the Spirit of the Lord planting seeds, ‘I am with you, I am with you. Be at peace.‘within us, speaking loud and clear in the sounds of silence. In our meditations, our Bible readings, do we allow the silence to surround us, to assure us, to enclose us in His Peace? God speaking in the silence of our time with Him.
— Stan
Psalm 98:1-3 The Voice:
Sing to God a brand-new song. He’s made a world of wonders! He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right. God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do. He remembered to love us, a bonus To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love. The whole earth comes to attention. Look—God’s work of salvation!
My Prayer for You:
May the sounds of silence be the language of the Holy Spirit, always leading us, always there for us, surrounding us, never leaving us to the darkness. Help us to listen with our hearts, we pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
