Third Binding Meditation

We have been listening and learning as the prayer of St. Patrick has been exposed to us. In this time of super, disciplined meditation for some, including me, with this trusting and faith-believing servant of God, we too have been continuously binding unto ourselves, most securely, all about our Triune God. We have bound and are continuing to bind unto ourselves, not just His Threefold Person, but His Sovereignty in heaven and on earth, as His obedient servants laud, worship and give Him all glory. We bind all these unto us in the midst of all seen and unforeseen, and known and unknown malicious and vicious, attacks. O how we are ever mindful of the fact that many, if not the majority of our present attacks and ambushes, are coming from within. We have realized and continue to realize daily that we are no match for these attackers and we need to be constantly wearing the breastplate of protection.

In speaking to the Church at Thessalonica, Paul reminds them that they are not people of the night, but people of the day, not people of darkness, but people of light, so that they ought to be living lives reflecting that truth. Their lives should be self-controlled. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 1 Thessalonians 5: 8.

Here is our third Binding Meditation

I bind unto myself today the virtues of the starlit heaven,

The glorious sun’s life-giving ray; The whiteness of the moon at even,

The flashing of the lightning free, The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,

The stable earth, the deep salt sea around the old eternal rocks. 

With faith and love as our breastplate we can bind unto ourselves all of God that we witness in nature, God’s creation. When God created the world and all that in them is, He was truly pleased and said that it was all good. As St. Patrick breathes these facts about Nature, is he not reminding himself of the perfect works of our Triune God, as Creator and Maintainer of all that He has made?

Let’s refresh our minds of what St. Patrick knew so well. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit was large and evident in creation. I draw your attention to these unmistakable references.

God the Father - In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1: 1

God the Son – In his words to the Church at Colossae, Paul speaks of Jesus, Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible. Colossians 1: 15 – 16a.

God the Holy Spirit – And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water. Genesis 1: 2b

God the Trinity - Now we listen to God speak of the Trinity. When our first parents sinned, this is what God said. Behold, the man is become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3: 22a. 

In confidence and unwavering trust in our God of creation and how He daily shows His power and authority to maintain order, we bind unto ourselves all the visible works of our invisible God in nature.

The star-lit heaven - When we see the vast heaven all lit up with the stars of night, what is its virtue, its relevance to us here below on earth, so very far removed? O how we are lifted in hope and assurance in our God, who bids us number the numberless stars, if we can, assuring us that we are one of the numberless seed of our father of faith. We are reminded of when God took Abram outside, to note the starlit heaven and assured him, So shall your seed be. Genesis 15: 5b.   

The sun’s life-giving rays – When we are blessed with the light of day, and the rays of sunlight shine upon the earth, we are called to revere God like the psalmist.  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84: 11

The moon’s whiteness – The whiteness of the moon personifies its purity, beauty, chastity and honesty. The pure shining moon in the night hours, brighten our spirits as we hear Sovereign God liken the steadfastness of His promises to the shining light of the moon. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.   Psalm 89: 37

The flashing lightning – The image of lightning flashing freely in the skies, draws us to focus on the day of the Lord. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. Luke 17: 24.

The whirling wind – As shocks on a vehicle help it to victoriously manoeuvre all kinds of hazardous terrain, so too the mighty whirling wind will show who are indeed people of faith and who are not.  Hear the words of Hosea 8: 7. For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.  

The stable earth – The stability of the earth is guaranteed because God has laid its foundations and none can remove them. We are looking to a God who establishes, and no one is able to pull down. It is God, Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever.  Psalm 104: 5

The deep salt sea – The deep salt sea, referenced to around the old eternal rocks, takes us back to God’s Superior and Supernatural powers to change menacing situations in our lives. The deep salt sea is the deadly or Dead Sea, which kills everything living. When however, the Lord wanted His people to cross over the Jordan during its tempestuous season, He even halted the waters of the deep salt sea. The waters all around stood up in a heap, and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. Joshua 3: 16b. We bind ourselves with more sturdy ropes of truth, when we remember the symbolism of the stones or rocks which were taken from the midst of the Jordan, which remains an eternal memorial to God’s people. And these stones will be a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. Joshua 4: 7b.

One point of meditation here, is that whenever we behold nature in all its fury or stillness, all its grandeur and simplicity, all its loudness and quiet, we cannot but hold tight to us a God who is trustworthy, wise and just. In prayer therefore as we cry out to God for His protection, we know that He is not just willing, but He is abundantly able to save us all, with a mighty Hand.