72:1-20-
Read the words - ‘His Name’ shall ‘endure for ever’(17) - and think of
Christ. His Name is ‘the Name above all other names’. He is ‘the King of
kings and Lord of lords’(Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 19:16). Read
the words - ‘all nations call Him blessed’(17) - , and think of Christ.
‘From every tribe and language and people and nation’, God’s people have
been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (Revelation 5:9). Read
the words -‘May His glory fill the whole earth!’(19) - and think of
Christ. In the ‘new heaven and new earth’, ‘the holy city’ will shine
with ‘the glory of God’. ‘Its radiance’, ‘like a very precious jewel’,
will be shining from this ‘lamp’: Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world’(Revelation 21:1-2,10-11,23; John 1:29).
73:1-28-
It is so easy for us to lose our way - ‘my feet had almost stumbled’.
We look at ‘the prosperity of the wicked’ and we become ‘envious of the
arrogant’(2-3). What are we to do when the worldly attitude threatens to
take control of us? We must remember the Lord, drawing near to Him in
worship and standing up for Him in witness. When others are forgetting
about God, we must continue to take our place in ‘the sanctuary of
God’(17). In an age when so many show no interest in worshipping God, we
must continue to say, ‘for me, it is good to be near God’. Our worship
is not to end the moment we leave the place of worship. We are to tell
others what the Lord ‘has done’ for us - ‘O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His Name together!’(28; 34:3).
74:1-23-
We have been ‘redeemed’. God has brought ‘salvation’ to us (2,12). We
rejoice in the Old Testament story of salvation: ‘the Lord has brought
you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage,
from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt’(Deuteronomy 7:8). Through
Christ, we rejoice with a much greater joy: “In Him we have redemption
through His blood’. This is ‘the Gospel of our salvation’. It is ‘good
news of a great joy’. Through faith in Christ, we ‘rejoice with
unutterable and exalted joy’. Through faith in Christ, we look forward
to ‘a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time... the salvation
of our souls’(Ephesians 1:7,13; Luke 2:10; 1 Peter 1:5,8-9).
‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’(Revelation
19:1).
75:1-76:12-
‘We give thanks to You, O God... I will rejoice for ever, I will sing
praises to the God of Jacob... Make your vows to the Lord your God, and
perform them...’(75:1,9; 76:11). True rejoicing in the Lord is more than
singing praises to Him. We are to live what we sing. ‘Fill Thou our
life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise’. ‘Take my life, and let
it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee’. These are not words to be forgotten
as soon as we leave the place of worship. ‘We ask... for a life made up
of praise in every part’. ‘Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all
for Thee’(Church Hymnary, 457, 462). Such words are not only for
singing. They are for living. We must not only sing them. We must live
them. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me’(Philippians 4:13).
77:1-20-
Sometimes, we have more questions than answers (7-9). The questions
keep flooding into our minds. We wonder where the answers are going to
come from. What are we to do when this happens? We must remember what
the Lord has done for us (11-12). Look back over the ‘years’- and
remember how the ‘hand’ of the Lord has been upon you (5,10). Think of
how the Lord has led you on your journey through life. He has been your
‘Shepherd’. He has led you ‘in paths of righteousness for His Name’s
sake’. Let the memory of God’s many blessings fill you with strength -
to face the future with confidence in Him: ‘Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the House
of the Lord for ever’(19-20; 23:1,3,6). Trust in the Lord. He will make
you truly happy.
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