WORD up!
Sorry for the corny title...
“ In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? ” (Psalm 56:4)
Two things that stand out to me in this passage are firstly, "whose word I praise". Now I've always considered God's "word" to be the Scriptures, His voice recorded, and however Holy they may be, I do not consider it appropriate to worship a book... but then again there are may interpretations of this "WORD". Check these out:
Genesis 15:1
[ God's Covenant With Abram ] After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
Here we see that the WORD of God is his voice, His essence, His Spirit. Remember the power of that voice, that with a word He created the vastness and order of the Universe from chaos? The same essence that is LIVING inside us? God, the Father breathed into us at our creation, giving us a soul and free will to choose Him or to choose not to. It is given to us in His Holy Spirit that walks with us every day. This is the voice that speaks to us through the living and active written word of the bible, challenging us and strengthening us and convicting us, the word that came to Moses in a burning bush, the still small voice that haunts us in a beautiful sunset, a lofty mountain, a moment of bliss.
I am certain there is a reson why the Holy Spirit is described as a Mighty Wind... is He not the breath, the essence, the WORD of God in our lives?
The Word is also Jesus Christ, our sinless Saviour, our Prince who has come to the world to rescue us, and who has been bent on this purpose since before the dawn of time:
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
There is absolutely no denying that He is worthy of praise indeed! Not because of what He did, but because of WHO HE IS.
And so the WORD, also known as the Triune God, the Father who breathed the world into existence with his voice, the Son who WAS the voice and who set about the greatest rescue mission ever undertaken, with the power to BEAT DEATH, and finally the Spirit, the great breath of God, who encourages and leads us in the ways of the Father and the Son... this God, is in us!
And so ... that final phrase "What can mortal man do to me?" Does it need any more said about it?
I know a rhetorical question when I see one :)