Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you insect Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it. (NRSV)
Each morning I rise and read God’s Holy Word. It is a discipline I have been doing for over forty years. In the past few years, I have begun reading more slowly and with greater contemplation – because the goal is not to check off having read some verses on a Bible reading plan. The aim is to connect meaningfully with God. The desired result is to hear the voice of the Lord, and to let the Scriptures do their incredible work in our hearts.
One of the ways I connect with Scripture, after having read the verses for the day several times, is to write it in my own words…
“My dear servant, there is no need whatsoever to worry yourself,
though others say about you,
‘That guy is nothing, only a wormy maggot!’
I am your holy God,
who saves and protects you.
I’ll let you be like a big ol’ log
covered with sharp spikes.
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hill in front of you
until they turn to dust.
A strong wind will scatter the dust of unholy jerks
in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your Lord,
the holy God who watches your life.
When your financial budget no longer budges
and your bank accounts lie empty
and you have no idea where to turn,
I, your Lord, and your God
will come to your rescue.
I will not forget you.
I will make rivers of abundance flow
on the desolate mountain peaks of your life.
I will send streams of life
to fill your empty valley of life’s tribulations.
Dry and barren places in your life
will flow with springs
and become a lake of grace and goodness.
I will fill the parched desert areas of your needy life
with all kinds of fruitful trees –
apple trees, olive trees, fig trees,
oak and walnut, elm and maple, fir, and pine,
like in the original garden,
all your needs will be met in and through me, your God.
Everyone will see this
and know that I,
the holy Yahweh God whom you love and serve,
created every bit of it.”
Whichever way we choose to view ourselves, as worm and insect, or as majestic person in the image of God, the spiritual reality continually before us is that the Lord will provide, bless, and care for us. We are the recipients of God’s gracious salvation. Although many modern hymnals do not include Isaac Watt’s, At the Cross, and if they do, the original words have been changed – it matters little. Because the action of deliverance belongs to God, and neither to you nor me. And even though we seem but lowly worms next to God, the Lord chooses to treat us with deference, accommodation, and care. Any low view of self is quickly eradicated in the face of such divine love.
Stanza 1:
Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Chorus:
At the cross, at the cross,
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away –
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day.
By Isaac Watts (1674-1748) and published in 1707.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 