REV 1:21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first Heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
PSALM 31:1-2 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
Many centuries before Jesus, Hebrew Scriptures reflected a dream shared by The Creator with humankind, created in His Image. The dream was “A new Heaven And A New Earth”. In Psalm 31, David offers a profoundly moving expression of his discovery of this unspeakable dream. Such is the poetic presentation of David’s acquaintance with God; it stimulates a renewed desire in every generation to seek personal encounters with the Divine Presence to learn the possibility of a New Heaven and New Earth.
“In You” O Lord, I have taken refuge!”
The descriptive image “IN YOU” by the suppliant David, expresses both the sincere longing for a personal new beginning and the belief that God is willing to initiate the dawning of a new day. “You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place”.
(Psalm 31: 18 )
David addresses his Creator in words that indicate a familiarity, yet with profound respect and well-practised faith, reminding us of the deeply personal nature of a relationship with God.
I pay particular notice to the preposition “In.” David is ‘In the Lord’, as one would be within the sheltering walls of a fortress. We assume he arrived at his destination just as he was, mentally, physically, and spiritually at that moment. ” In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge”. And, still, he bears evidence of one who dwells in a material environment. He is fresh from worldly encounters and bears the marks of fresh engagements. The fear and the threat of the conquering world are even at that moment In him. David’s more familiar worldly experience seeks to overshadow the accepting and welcoming atmosphere inside the fortress. He has to decide, as does every human to permit the dominance of worldly influences through the door of the Sacred fortress or else to concentrate upon this fact expressed so well by Alfred Lord Tennyson:
“Speak to Him Thou, for He hears and Spirit with Spirit can meet-closer is He than breathing,
And nearer than hands and feet.” (2)
David, reaches the threshold of promise for ‘The New Heaven and The New Earth.’
“Since You are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of Your Name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for You are my refuge.
Into Your hands I commit my spirit.”
(Psalm 31: 3 – 5)
Words are never enough for humans alone to achieve the fulfilment of the dream of the New Heaven and the New earth. The Gospel must be completed within each person! The Word must become flesh and dwell among us!’ Heaven’s atmosphere must infiltrate the world’s iron-clad souls, starting with a vision of God’s SPIRIT MEETING with our spirits IN Christ.
J. B. Philips’ translation of Colossians 1:27 captures in this hour the essence of the dream fulfilled:
“The secret is simply this: Christ in you!Yes, Christ in you bringing with Him all the hope of all
glorious things to come. It goes on to say that ‘ the Hope of Glory is the fulfilment of God’s promise to restore us and all creation”.
We are appointed to be the builders of God’s Kingdom in this hour. We need more than our will and effort to fulfil that mission. Only by abiding ‘IN CHRIST’ shall we experience the power and transforming miracle of renewed faith that ushers in the New Heaven and New Earth.
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Thank You, Lord,
For leaving our creation unfinished.
The thought that we remain in Your workshop is exciting and wonderfully demonstrative of Your Love’s meaning, mercy, and patience.
Thank You for permitting us the freedom to try again when something we try does not work out as we anticipated. But there was never a slight indication of Your disappointment over our eagerness to try. Sometimes, following an exhaustive attempt to solve ‘an impossible problem, confidence returns in the morning! It is as though Someone worked on it while I slept!
Thank You for letting me claim the victory as if my ingenuity earned the win.
Thank You for giving me a seat in Your workshop so I may observe how things are done the way You desire them to be.
Thank you to the Carpenter of Nazareth, who chooses the human spirit as His workshop so that together, we may build a more loving world as God’s Kingdom.
In this way alone shall the hope of ‘A New Heaven and A New Earth be fulfilled.
In the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray Amen.
Hymn: I See A New Heaven.
https://youtu.be/jR8wXLVvfQc?si=f4cCRQ2syjMrijOx
EDITORIAL NOTES
- Scripture references in the text are from the NIV translation of scriptures unless otherwise indicated.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson in “The Higher Pantheism.”