A prayer for the church
Who can count the dust of Jesus
or number the fourth part of the church?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!He has not beheld misfortune in Jesus,
nor has he seen trouble in the church.
Jesus their God is with with them,
and the shout of a king is among them.
Jesus brings them out of the old creation
and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
For there is no enchantment against Jesus,
no divination against the church;
Now it shall be said of Jesus and the church,
‘What has God wrought!’
Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up
and as a lion it lifts itself;
It does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.How lovely are your tents, O Jesus,
your encampments, O church!
Like palm groves that stretch afar,
like gardens beside a river,
Like aloes that Jesus has planted,
like cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets,
and his seed shall be in many waters;
His king shall be higher than Caesar,
and his kingdom shall be exalted.
Jesus brings them out of the old creation
and is for them like the horns of the wild ox;
He shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,
and shall break their bones in pieces
and pierce them through with his arrows.
He crouched, he lay down like a lion
and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?
Blessed are those who bless you,
and cursed are those who curse you.
Adapted from Numbers 23-24
Picture source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_Balaam_and_the_Ass.jpg
Scott Moonen
February 16, 2013 at 3:05 pm