The reading for day 41 was Psalm 46-69. 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God will help her, and that right early. 46:6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted. What an amazing picture of God's love and protection of His people. God is in the midst of His people and we will not be moved. 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me. 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. This passage is from David's confession after his sin with Bathsheba. We don't like to think of God as one who will punish wrongdoing, but even with His children he disciplines them for their sins. The son that Bathsheba becamse pregnant with because of their sin died. God did that...what??? Yes, God did that. He told David that the son she bore would die. Thats why this psalm touches a cord in each of our lives. We know that God is just and that we are deserving of death, but we cry out for mercy to God and He hears our plea even if he doesn't remove His hand. Praise God that He has made Jesus the propitiation for my sins. 53:2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, That did seek after God. 53:3 Every one of them is gone back; they are together become filthy; There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Well I think that this scriputre speaks for itself and answers those who say that "I'm a good person." 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; For my soul taketh refuge in thee: Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge, Until `these' calamities be overpast. 57:2 I will cry unto God Most High, Unto God that performeth `all things' for me. 57:3 He will send from heaven, and save me, `When' he that would swallow me up reproacheth; Selah God will send forth his lovingkindness and his truth. What does it mean when the psalmist says that he will take refuge in the shadow of His wings? I'll tell you what I think and you can let me know if I am wrong. I think he is referring to the wings of the angels carved on the top of the ark of the covenant.(also see psalm 61:4 and 63:7) It's definitely symbolic in nature but is also an actual place where he could have gone. What do you think? In verse 2 the NIV says "I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me." That makes the verse a little easier to understand. God saves him because of His own plans, not because of anything David had done. God is fulffilling His own purposes. 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach `unto thee', That he may dwell in thy courts: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, Thy holy temple. The amazing thing about this passage is not just that God chooses people to come near Him and worship before Him but everything it says in the preceding verses. The issue of global slavery (along with economic oppression, food shortages, etc.) has been on my mind a lot lately with the release of the movie Amazing Grace and several books that have been released recently that cover the topic either directly or indirectly, and as I've been reading through scripture the I've really noticed the verses that speak to the issues. Here are a couple of examples from the Psalms. 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, Is God in his holy habitation. 68:6 God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 68:10 Thy congregation dwelt therein: Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor. 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify him with thanksgiving. 69:31 And it will please Jehovah better than an ox, `Or' a bullock that hath horns and hoofs. 69:32 The meek have seen it, and are glad: Ye that seek after God, let your heart live. 69:33 For Jehovah heareth the needy, And despiseth not his prisoners. 82:1 God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods. 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked? Selah 82:3 Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 82:4 Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. So then, my question to you, the church, is this...When will we start doing what psalm 82:3-4 says? Wy aren't we doing it now? How do we start doing it? How long will it be before God judges us for neglecting to do it? What will it take for the church to rise from her sleep and do justice in the world? Read through the Old Testament and see how many times God refers to Himself as the defender of the oppressed. What does that tell us about God's character and what we should be doing to demonstrate that character to others? |
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