"Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." — Ps. 67:5-7
Do you ever wish that we lived in a better world? Given the state of the world today, as reported to us by the omnipresent media, anyone thus informed must long for a better day, whether some may long for the fanciful "good old days," or, for those with more discernment, look forward to a great day to come.
This psalm, concise and tightly focused, offers us a clue to the realization of that longing. Drawing our thoughts from the selection at hand, we are first confronted with the foundation of hope for a better day in v.5: "Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee." Praise is the key.
There was a time when Israel faced an enemy, and all the concerns an adversary brings, and God gave counsel through a spirit filled man of God (Cf. II Chron. 20:14ff), "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's." On the strength of that counsel the godly king Jehoshaphat "appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever."
Imagine sending the choir out before the military! But observe the consequences: "When they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten [II Chron. 20:22]."
Praise is set forth as the prerequisite to blessing. "Let the people praise thee, O God, let all the people praise Thee. Then…" Then what? "Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God…shall bless us!" Here both temporal prosperity and spiritual blessing are predicated upon praise. Let the saints learn the lesson. "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for Praise is comely for the upright [Ps. 33:1]."
Who has more reason to praise the Lord than those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God? We are numbered among the "upright" and the "righteous" only because of that mercy for which the Psalmist pleads in v.1 of this Psalm, made supremely manifest through the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us! Had we this and nothing more, we would still have reason enough to praise Him, for in this there is a future worth anticipating. Temporal "blessing" is, at best, only temporary. The psalmist says in another place, "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee [Ps. 63:3, my italics]."
Finally our text moves from prospect to promise. "God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him." Standing on that promise, one in our dispensation may look back to God's promise, through the patriarchs, of universal blessing and look forward through the prophets to the same. As bleak as the human scene may look at any point in human history, those promises and prophesies remain unchanged. And they are the word of a God who cannot lie. Their fulfillment, at the return of the Savior, will bring about the occasion for universal praise.
For now that is not the case. Praise is confined to the company of the redeemed, and they are in the minority. It remains both our privilege and our responsibility to praise Him as the scriptures say we should. Variously, in the psalms, the writers promise, "I will praise the name of God with a song [Ps.. 69:30]; "His praise shall continually be in my mouth [Ps. 34:1]; "My tongue shall speak of Thy righteousness and of Thy praise all the day long [Ps. 35:28]; "While I live I will praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being [Ps. 146:2]; "I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart [Ps. 9:1]."
Go thou and do likewise!"Praise is comely for the upright."
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
Do you ever wish that we lived in a better world? Given the state of the world today, as reported to us by the omnipresent media, anyone thus informed must long for a better day, whether some may long for the fanciful "good old days," or, for those with more discernment, look forward to a great day to come.
This psalm, concise and tightly focused, offers us a clue to the realization of that longing. Drawing our thoughts from the selection at hand, we are first confronted with the foundation of hope for a better day in v.5: "Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee." Praise is the key.
There was a time when Israel faced an enemy, and all the concerns an adversary brings, and God gave counsel through a spirit filled man of God (Cf. II Chron. 20:14ff), "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's." On the strength of that counsel the godly king Jehoshaphat "appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever."
Imagine sending the choir out before the military! But observe the consequences: "When they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten [II Chron. 20:22]."
Praise is set forth as the prerequisite to blessing. "Let the people praise thee, O God, let all the people praise Thee. Then…" Then what? "Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God…shall bless us!" Here both temporal prosperity and spiritual blessing are predicated upon praise. Let the saints learn the lesson. "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for Praise is comely for the upright [Ps. 33:1]."
Who has more reason to praise the Lord than those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God? We are numbered among the "upright" and the "righteous" only because of that mercy for which the Psalmist pleads in v.1 of this Psalm, made supremely manifest through the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us! Had we this and nothing more, we would still have reason enough to praise Him, for in this there is a future worth anticipating. Temporal "blessing" is, at best, only temporary. The psalmist says in another place, "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee [Ps. 63:3, my italics]."
Finally our text moves from prospect to promise. "God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him." Standing on that promise, one in our dispensation may look back to God's promise, through the patriarchs, of universal blessing and look forward through the prophets to the same. As bleak as the human scene may look at any point in human history, those promises and prophesies remain unchanged. And they are the word of a God who cannot lie. Their fulfillment, at the return of the Savior, will bring about the occasion for universal praise.
For now that is not the case. Praise is confined to the company of the redeemed, and they are in the minority. It remains both our privilege and our responsibility to praise Him as the scriptures say we should. Variously, in the psalms, the writers promise, "I will praise the name of God with a song [Ps.. 69:30]; "His praise shall continually be in my mouth [Ps. 34:1]; "My tongue shall speak of Thy righteousness and of Thy praise all the day long [Ps. 35:28]; "While I live I will praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being [Ps. 146:2]; "I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart [Ps. 9:1]."
Go thou and do likewise!"Praise is comely for the upright."
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
No comments:
Post a Comment