God
is Good and Merciful to All!
Sunday,
August 28, 2011
By
Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
Great
Is the Lord
[1]
A Song of Praise. Of David.
145:1
I will extol you, my God and King,
and
bless your name forever and ever.
2
Every day I will bless you
and
praise your name forever and ever.
3
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and
his greatness is unsearchable.
4
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and
shall declare your mighty acts.
5
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and
on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and
I will declare your greatness.
7
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and
shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow
to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9
The Lord is good to all,
and
his mercy is over all that he has made.
10
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and
all your saints shall bless you!
God
belongs to nobody. Yet, God belongs to everybody: sinner or saint;
saved or unsaved. “9
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
This
declaration may appear to be self-evident. But, in fact, it is hotly
contested, and is at the base of uncountable wars and is the cause of
innumerable tragedies.
I
repeat: “9
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
The
Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other creeds claim exclusivity over
God, and by extension, proclaim primacy over all other creeds, sects,
or religions with God.
This
self-righteous claim of exclusivity, and its ensuing proclamation of
primacy, sets and manifests in humans: as water, sand, lime, mortar
set in concrete; as gas condenses to liquid then solid; as faith and
works create things imagined.
These
transformative effects take place in churches, mosques, synagogues,
in religious temples of any kind, where primacy is proclaimed, where
exclusivity is asserted. “9
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
Rather
than closeted temples of secular impiety, mankind might be better
served by open schools of natural inquiry and wonder, wherein people
are taught, not indoctrinated; wherein people are free to speculate,
not bound to regurgitate; where people are liberated, not
incarcerated, in an open vision of love and awe.
Thus,
righteous persons' choices have been reduced to this: trust in God
not in vain man. “9
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
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