by David Brenneman
"Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the Lord is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You."
Psalms 33:1-22
That last portion of verse 22...wow. His lovingkindness is proportional to our hope in Him?
Think about how deeply you are trusting and hoping in your relationship with Jesus. We oftentimes wonder why we go through the things we do in life, and most probably have never considered the truth of what that verse 22 is saying.
Truth be known, most probably never have seen that verse. I have lost count of how many times I have read through my Bible and until this moment didn't know about it.
Start at the beginning...praise is becoming of the upright. Is becoming in this case means its appropriate, it's of chief value. it's the RIGHT thing to do.
What is the definition of upright? All the ways and works of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether you understand what He's doing or not, His ways are better, higher, and more effective and important than our lifetime of understanding.
"For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation." Nothing on Earth nor in the Heavens, anywhere at any time, will cause a single thing of our Savior's plans to be thwarted. All the powers of Satan could not stop Jesus from returning from the dead. Some songs call that "All the powers of Hell" and that is a deception. God created Hell for Satan and his minions as a PUNISHMENT. It isn't any place that any demon wants to be because once there they cannot leave until the day of the final judgment of Jesus as we read near the end of the book of Revelation. Every demon fears Hell.
"He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works."
He knows your heart and knows your every single thought in all its myriads of ways. In Christ Jesus, the Spirit is working in and through all who are Christians to have the Church of Jesus Christ be what it needs to be. Individually each is a work in progress. Each part of the body of Christ has a special and unique function. Yes, even you.
"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You."
Does your soul wait on the Lord?
Does your heart rejoice in Him?
Do you really trust in Him?
That last portion...according to as we have hoped in you...wow.
To the degree we have hoped in You, Lord Jesus. What a profound thought!
The deeper we hope the more His lovingkindness is revealed to us and is found in us. The world will think you're crazy in obeying in this. The world doesn't see the depths of the depravity they are in. They cannot understand the things of God because they are foreign them because they are spiritually discerned. Paul wrote that a long time ago and when you apply that single verse to the thousand or so people in the Bible it's revealed as an absolute truth then, as well as is seen as an absolute truth now.
We're to be a light in this world to show people where to find the Savior, who is Christ Jesus. Our eyes only see spiritual things because the Spirit opens them. Our obedience brings more to our minds and hearts than we ever thought possible.
Our personal happiness is not paramount in this life. Our obedience and our level of hope in Christ Jesus are what grows us in Christ to be the best we can be in the body of Christ. Forget denominations, these are Earthly constructs of men. The universal Church is that of Jesus Christ's vision and of the Spirit's direction. Forget which version of the Bible is better than others. That which fits your hearts needs is what works for you, as long as it is the complete 66 books of the Old Testament and New Testament. There's no sense in owning a Bible that you're having difficulty understanding if indeed you are saved. Nobody has a right to tell you that you must use a specific version.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Ask the Spirit to help you understand the Word that was written by Him.
"For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You."
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. Lockman Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment