Enthroned Over The Flood (Psalm 28:10)

 


Friday, July 11, 2025


Psalms 28; 29

1 Samuel 29:1-30:6

John 4:27-42


Observance: Benedict of Nursia, abbot (d. 550)


Enthroned Over The Flood (Psalm 28:10)


The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.


The ancients knew what they were doing when it came to language. If you wanted to describe the ups and downs of life, of the utter chaos that is human existence, you could not do much better than describe it as floodwaters. It is such a good description; consider how we try and control our destinies in so many little ways. We brush our teeth in order to control our gum health. We drive sensibly to control our road safety. This is not an indictment against self determination, nor is it a call to fatalism. But the idea of floodwaters as a way to describe the chaos of life stands up against human experience.


Chaos can come from our interactions with others. Nowhere perhaps is chaotic as the church. We are all a member of our church because we feel strongly about something. It might be the family of believers; the doctrinal purity; or the liturgical beauty. Maybe it is mission or evangelism. Whatever it is, we all have strong feelings about how the church should operate, and because we are all individual people with our own ideas, we find the church is a perfect breeding ground for chaos.


Above all that chaos – over the flood – the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. Walking on the water of chaos is the Lord Jesus. Hovering over the water of chaos is the Holy Spirit. God is above the chaos in glory, splendour, strength and, most importantly, peace. How comforting – above all the chaos is peace, and that peace is the Lord himself. When Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven and passed through the curtain into that place of peace, leading us with him, through his own body. Above the chaos is peace, and that is where Jesus leads us.


Where is the chaos in your life at the moment? How might you enter into the peace of the presence of the Lord, and rise above that chaos?


Glorious Lord of peace, whose voice calms the strongest waves: lead us into your peace, that we may be saved from the floodwaters of this world’s chaos, and therefore know your peace in our hearts, and be bringers of your peace into the world.

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