2022-03-11
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There is real joy in knowing that with faithful obedience to God, there will be restoration in many forms. Such evil as anti-Semitism, cruel and abusive treatment from wrongdoers, and serial unbelief will be ended on God’s timeclock. I mention anti-Semitism, which has deeply and wrongfully affected my own family in the past and synagogues in this country recently, because what was done in the past to Jewish people throughout our 3000- year history is still in progress. Yet the Lord has told us, in DN 9: 24, that He will put an end to sin (evil) as a part of what will happen in the end times. Long ago Jeremiah wrote, in JER 29: 11-13, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and you will find Me when you will seek Me with all your heart.’” This is reason for us to have a deep-seated joy that others sympathetic to us who don’t accept Christ may have a hard time explaining.
The Psalmist wrote a very meaningful prayer that reveals strong faith in the Lord and that deep-seated joy I mentioned, in PS 71: 1-24. This prayer (excepted here) was written and sung by them, as the Jews made their way on foot three times a year up the hilly terrain to the Jerusalem temple. It begins with the Psalmist’s plea for the Lord to rescue, deliver, and save us in His righteousness. (3-4) “Be my Rock of refuge, to which I can always go, give the command to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men.” The Psalmist says, in (7-8), “I have become like a portent of many, but You are my strong Refuge. My mouth is filled with Your praise, declaring Your splendor all day long.” We must remember that God loves to be acknowledged for His attributes and deeds, the blessings He gives us and the way He is always available to us as our Refuge. Our enemies will often tell us that God has forsaken us when we are amidst trouble. Don’t believe it for a minute!
The prayer continues, in (12-16), “Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, through I know not it’s measure. I will come and proclaim Your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone.” This is nothing the Psalmist hasn’t done since his youth; it’s a life-long habit for him to have this relationship with the Lord. This habit doesn’t mean that someone who comes to faith later in life won’t have the same blessings; it’s just a great habit for us to get into in our own lives. The Psalmist sees the importance of instilling these values in the next coming generations, and so should we. He knows that despite God allowing him to see troubles which are many and bitter, God will increase his honor and comfort once again. The kind of praise the Psalmist offers is seen in (22-23). “I will praise You with the harp for Your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to You with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You—I, whom You have redeemed.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we could hardly write a better prayer than the Psalmist did so long ago. He has said what is in our hearts. When we are obediently faithful, we can feel the deep joy that he had. Only You can be the fundamental source of love and joy, the two gifts we have learned about so far from the Holy Spirit. We express our faith in the restoration You will give us in Your perfect time, if we will confess our sins and proclaim Christ as our personal Savior, we can walk “the hard path through the narrow gate” that leads to eternal life” [MT 7: 13-14]. Our faith is in the redemption that Christ’s Atonement gives us and the restoration of peace and contentment in heaven [REV 7: 14-17]. We know we must go through hard times before all of us who believe are in heaven, and we have reliance on the promise of protection You have given us [REV 8: 1-4]. We say these prayers with praise and thanks for Who You are and what You do for us, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ.
NEXT WEEK: PS 71 is such a powerful and important prayer that we need to discuss it further next week, so that is where I’ve been commanded by the Holy Spirit to begin next week. We’ll look at the Psalmist’s relationship with God, his fears, and other topics that will elucidate just how important for us this prayer is. One of the things that gives me inner joy is knowing that our prayers and thoughts matter so much to the Lord. What praiseworthy patience He has, to listen to every prayer we offer and to take the time to know our hearts the way He does. As far as Israel is concerned, it would have perished long ago, if our God didn’t love her. And this is despite that He felt it necessary to punish her disobedience along the way of human history. Her enemies, for example, the Amalekites, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, the Seleucids, the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms of the 1880’sin eastern Europe, and the Nazis, have all disappeared. It makes me think that other enemies may arise and will have the same fate. I even believe that the innocents from Syria who were so bitterly treated by their own government will one day find restoration. The man who took hostages in the temple in Colleyville, TX met his fate without a hostage being killed. So did the wrongdoer who killed 11 people worshipping in a synagogue in PA. It’s hard not to have inner joy and recognition of God’s justice when we see God at work. We must keep our eye on the big prize, which is eternal life! Praise and thanks be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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