June 4 - Psalms 67-69
Psalm 67 is another psalm of praise to God, but it has another truth as well. In this psalm God shows His desire for all nations or people groups to praise Him and to know His salvation. Many people miss this in the Old Testament. They think that God was only interested in Israel then, but that is not true. He always wanted the other nations to see Israel and be drawn to Him. That is exactly what this psalm tells us.
In Psalm 68 we see God as the Defender of the helpless. He is portrayed as a great military leader who leads His people to victory in battle, and then He comes back to His home city of Jerusalem and Mount Zion in triumph. David praises God for all of His benefits to His people, and he describes God's wonderful procession or parade into the sanctuary. It is a great way to proclaim the majesty and power of God in terms that the people of David's day could understand. Then, another reference is made to God being praised by the kingdoms of the earth. God wants everyone to know Him as their deliverer.
David is overwhelmed again as he writes Psalm 69. He had received the reproaches of the people, because of his faith in God. David had sought the Lord in repentance to make sure he was clean before the Lord. He cried out for God to defeat his enemies. By the end of the psalm he proclaims his faith that God would deliver His people. In the midst of this psalm we find a helpful reference to two different books kept by God. In verse 28 David referred to the "book of the living" and to the book of the "righteous." This is interesting to me, because of some references in the New Testament, which are confusing to people. Those references speak about names being blotted out of the book, and people think that means losing salvation, but that is not the case. It is being blotted out of the book of the living, which is the book of everyone who has ever been born. The book of the righteous or the Lamb's book of life contains the names of everyone who is saved, and no one is ever blotted out of that book once their names are written there. I had never noticed this reference until this morning. That is a great blessing that comes from reading God's word and finding how it all fits together so well.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 70-72.
In Psalm 68 we see God as the Defender of the helpless. He is portrayed as a great military leader who leads His people to victory in battle, and then He comes back to His home city of Jerusalem and Mount Zion in triumph. David praises God for all of His benefits to His people, and he describes God's wonderful procession or parade into the sanctuary. It is a great way to proclaim the majesty and power of God in terms that the people of David's day could understand. Then, another reference is made to God being praised by the kingdoms of the earth. God wants everyone to know Him as their deliverer.
David is overwhelmed again as he writes Psalm 69. He had received the reproaches of the people, because of his faith in God. David had sought the Lord in repentance to make sure he was clean before the Lord. He cried out for God to defeat his enemies. By the end of the psalm he proclaims his faith that God would deliver His people. In the midst of this psalm we find a helpful reference to two different books kept by God. In verse 28 David referred to the "book of the living" and to the book of the "righteous." This is interesting to me, because of some references in the New Testament, which are confusing to people. Those references speak about names being blotted out of the book, and people think that means losing salvation, but that is not the case. It is being blotted out of the book of the living, which is the book of everyone who has ever been born. The book of the righteous or the Lamb's book of life contains the names of everyone who is saved, and no one is ever blotted out of that book once their names are written there. I had never noticed this reference until this morning. That is a great blessing that comes from reading God's word and finding how it all fits together so well.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 70-72.