In my devotionals this week I came across the following reading:
In Highland tradition God is regarded both in Himself and in His Three Persons as a Chief and Ard Righ, with personal tied to His people. It is after the manner of a chieftain, of a hero, or of a prince of royal feasting – a link with the world of the saga and the heaven of the nobles, and a more full version of the Agape of the Son of God. There is an immanence here, quite without parallel in English Christianity.
The paragraph above reminds us how different cultures and peoples have approached their understanding of God. Each has found ways to incorporate their understanding of God, with how they live as a people. This has led to different forms of worship, theology and spiritual traditions. This Highland understanding of God is perhaps best understood through Psalm 29: 3-8.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
A Highland Prayer
Chief of the mountain and Chief of the plain,
Chief of the river and Chief of the main,
Chief of the sunlight, the rainbow, the rain:
O my Chief, hear my prayer.Chief of the fishes and Chief of the herds,
Chief of the creatures and Chief of the birds,
Chief of the singing, the echoes, the words:
O my Chief, grant Thy care.Chief of the island and Chief of the land,
Chief of the highland and Chief of the strand,
Chief of the skyland and Chief of the sand:
O my Chief everywhere.Chief of the planet and Chief of the height,
Chief of the moon, mottled Star-Chief of might,
Chief of the morning and glittering light:
O my Chief jewelled fair.
From Celtic Daily Prayer Book Two: Farther Up and Farther In, 2015.