2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
The struggle for God’s eternal truth and perfection in our lives is not over. The Psalmist understood this and it is reflected in the words of PS 119: 169-176, which reveal the spiritual meaning of the twenty-second Hebrew letter, tahv. It is a prayer for God’s help.
“Let my cry for help reach You, Lord! Give me understanding, as You have promised. Listen to my prayer, and save me according to Your promise! I always praise You, because You teach me Your laws. I will sing about Your law, because Your commands are just. Always be ready to help me, because I follow Your commands. How I long for Your saving help, O Lord! I find happiness in Your law. Give me life, so that I may praise You; may Your instructions help me. I wander about like a lost sheep; so come and look for me, Your servant, because I have not neglected Your law.” Yesterday I spoke about how the Lord already knows the desires of our hearts, but wants us to continue to pray for them anyway. When we reread this passage, we can see a gorgeous demonstration of the two parallel truths: God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility to respond to it. How could the Lord not be pleased with our Psalmist’s example of faithfulness? We can see in this prayer and praise through the word.
All of these has brought me back to another truth that I know in my heart, the Lord created us to worship Him. I have mentioned in a previous message a few months ago my belief that we will all have meaningful assignments once we are back with the Father in heaven. Our first one will be to worship Him. Earth is like a training ground in which we are learning by listening to God’s commands and obeying them how to worship Him. Because of our remaining imperfections, our struggle must continue for eternal perfection and truth. In EX 34: 14, God commands us not to worship any other god, because He tolerates no rivals. The same message is repeated in DT 11: 16. A beautiful Psalm which I intend to write more on in the future is PS 45, A Royal Wedding Song. PS 45: 11 is a message to the bride [symbolically to the church], “Your beauty will make the King desire you; He is your Master, so you must obey Him.” Our Psalmist sets an example for us in his understanding of God’s supremacy, because he knows God is the only appropriate source of help for him. PS 97:7, “Everyone who worships idols is put to shame; all the gods bow down before the Lord.”
If there was ever any question that we were created to worship the Lord, it is put to rest in JN 4: 23-24, a prophecy that Christ shared with the Samaritan women He met at a well, “But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God’s Spirit people will worship the Father as He really is, offering Him the truth worship that He wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of His Spirit can people worship Him as He really is.” When the woman said she knew that the Messiah will come and that He would tell us everything, Christ revealed His deity to her and to us. JN 4: 26, “I am He, I Who am talking with you.” While this happened long after our Psalmist wrote his prayer for God’s help, he could have never had the spiritual maturity and understanding of God’s law that he had without the power of the Spirit revealing it to him. He would have never worshipped God in the way he did without Him.
In his plea for help, our Psalmist also knew for what he was struggling; he had a more lofty perspective on it than one struggling without faith. He characterized himself as “wandering like a lost sheep,” and pleaded with God to look at him with the favor of a servant. Little did he know that John would write about Christ, Good Shepherd so many years later. JN 10: 14-15, “I am the Good Shepherd. As the Father know Me and I know the Father, in the same way I know My sheep and they know Me. And I am willing to die for them.” God does hear our pleas for help. We must make them, so that He will know how we worship and adore Him. He truly is the Source of safety and provision for our lives; He wants us to know that. Our prayers will not go unanswered, nor will they be answered with injustice.
We need to be patient as we continue to go through the process of sanctification that God has prepared for us. Our trust should be, as the Psalmist’s is, in God. PHIL 3: 3 gives us insight into what real worship is. “It is we, not they [those who rely on external ceremonies like circumcision], who have received true circumcision, for we worship God by means of His Spirit and rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus.” One last passage, which I hope you will read, firmly convinces me that we are created to worship God is REV 4: 1-11; it describes worship in heaven. I look forward to the day when we will all be there together doing just that after the wedding feast of the Lamb. Marana tha-Our Lord come [1 COR 16: 22]! Let it be soon!
PRAYER: O Lord, we can take joy in praising You, because You are the Source of our help. You stand by, listening to our prayers and feeling pleased when we rely on You, instead of human resources. When we obey and trust You, You know this is a victory over our fleshly natures. When we are patient and wait for Your perfect time, You are able to work through us. When we set an example, demonstrating courage of faith in You and Your Son, others can be brought to faith. Through Your Spirit, You make it possible for us to have this kind of faith, just as You gave faith to our Psalmist. Our deepest hopes are fulfilled in the resurrection of the Son, Whom we will follow. We no longer have to be sheep led astray, each one going his own way. Through the love and compassion You have for us, we have a Good Shepherd to lead us and take our prayers directly to You. We humbly praise, adore, glorify, magnify, honor, and worship You. In Christ’s name, amen.
The spiritual meaning of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet reveal a rich spiritual gift given to the Jews by God. RO 10: 11-13, “The Scripture [IS 28: 16] says,’ Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to Him. As the Scripture [JOEL 2: 32] says, ’Everyone who calls out to the lord for help will be saved.’ “ Now, that we believe, we all share in the gift originally given to the Jews. We are a blessed people!
Grace, Peace, and Love Be Yours Always,
Lynn