3/31/2012 9:24:21 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Blessings from God
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 67:1-2
Message of the verses: In today’s SD we will begin to look at the 67th Psalm. First we will look at several introductions to help us understand what the psalmist is writing.
“TITLE. To the Chief Musician. Who he was matters not, and who we may be is also of small consequence, so long as the Lord is glorified. On Neginoth, or upon stringed instruments. This is the fifth Psalm so entitled, and no doubt like the others was meant to be sung with the accompaniment of "harpers harping with their harps." No author’s name is given, but he would be a bold man who should attempt to prove that David did not write it. We will be hard pushed before we will look for any other author upon whom to father these anonymous odes which lie side by side with those ascribed to David, and wear a family likeness to them. A Psalm or Song. Solemnity and vivacity are here united. A Psalm is a song, but all songs are not Psalms: this is both one and the other.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“This brief psalm develops two optimistic themes: the need and result of God’s mercy, and the future universal worship of God. The psalm reflects the promise to Abraham that God would bless his descendants, and in Abraham, ‘all the families of the earth’ (Genesis 12:1-3) (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
“Except for verses 1 and 6, each verse in this brief psalm mentions ‘all nations’ or ‘all peoples,’ and in that respect fits in with Psalms 65 and 66. It’s a psalm of praise to God for all His blessings, as well as a prayer to God that His blessings will flow out to the Gentiles, especially His salvation. This was part of God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). A blessing is a gift from God that glorifies His name, helps His people, and through them reaches out to help others who will glorify His name. God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others. The psalm describes the stages in this sequence.” (Warren Wiersbe’s Be Worshipful Psalms 1-89)
Israel Blesses the Nations (vv. 1-2): “1 ¶ «For the choir director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.» God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us- Selah. 2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
Dr. Wiersbe points out that this portion of Psalm 67 was adapted from the High Priestly Prayer that is found in Numbers 6:24-26. Let us look at these verses with a couple more included so that we can get the flavor of what the Lord is telling Moses. “22 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ’Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24 The LORD bless you, and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ 27 "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them." The psalmist uses the word Elohim instead of Jehovah. We have mentioned Genesis 12:1-3 a couple of times and so let’s look at those verses too: “ 1 ¶ Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’” These wonderful verses go along with Psalm 67 and in them we see a promise from God to Abraham, and to his descendants. I have read and heard that one can see the raising and the falling of the worlds empires by how they treated the Jews (Israel), and that is what God promised to Abraham in verse three. What is being taught here is that one cannot treat a Jewish person badly just because they are Jewish or God will curse the one who does this or the nation who does this. We also see in this section that all of the nations of the earth will be blessed through Abraham. The apostle Paul writes the following in Romans 9:1-5: “1 ¶ I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” Paul is describing how God blesses all peoples through the nation of Israel, and we know that Abraham is the father of the nation of Israel.
Dr. Wiersbe brings up the glory of God which is seen in this passage from Romans, and was also seen in the history of the nation of Israel, and this is a very important part of the history of Israel and also a part of the true Church today. “To have the light of God’s countenance smile upon them was the height of Israel’s blessing, and to lose that glory meant judgment (1Sam. 4, especially vv. 21-22). The prophet Ezekiel watched the glory depart before the temple was destroyed (Eze. 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18; 11:22-23). God’s people today have God’s glory within (1Cor. 6:19-20; 2Cor. 4:6), and in our good works, godly character, and loving ministry we should reveal that glory to the world (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16) In the same manner, Israel was to be a light and a blessing to the nations (Isa. 42:6;; 49:6-7; Acts 13:47). Israel gave us the knowledge of the true and living God, the Word of God and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: “A blessing is a gift from God that glorifies His name, helps His people, and through them reaches out to help others who will glorify His name. God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others.” I want to be a blessing to others today.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I don’t want to think so much of me today, but be a blessing to others through the power of God. I want to continue to learn contentment.
3/31/2012 10:21:42 AM
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