‘I Was Glad When They Said To Me, “Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord.”’
‘Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips’(120:2). God calls us to ‘believe the truth’, ‘love the truth’ and ‘follow the truth’. We are to be people who ‘do what is true’(2 Thessalonians 2:10-11; 3 John 3-4; John 3:21). How can we be such people? We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. He is ‘the Truth’(Hebrews 12:2; John 14:6). When we are tempted to turn away from the pathway of truth, we must remember this: ‘My help comes from the Lord’. We must remember God’s promise: ‘The Lord is your Keeper...The Lord will keep you from all evil’. God’s promise is not only for ‘this time’. It’s ‘for evermore’(121:2,5,7-8). This gives us glorious hope as we keep on looking to Christ,‘eagerly awaiting’ His Return ( Hebrews 9:28).
Psalms 122:1-124:8
‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”’(122:2). Why do we go to the House of the Lord? We go ‘to give thanks to the Name of the Lord’(122:4). We seek His mercy for our past sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!’(123:3). We seek His help for our future temptations: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord...’(124:8). As we receive mercy and help from the Lord, we worship Him: ‘Blessed be the Lord’(124:6). In our worship, we ‘look to the Lord our God’, drawing encouragement from His Word: ‘The Lord is on our side’- In Him we have the victory (123:2; 124:1-5). Rejoicing in God’s blessing, we pray for others: ‘May they prosper who love You’(122:6).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
The Lord Is King. He is The King Of Love.
‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord... Let us come before Him with thanksgiving... Come, let us bow down in worship...’(1-2,6). We are to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving. We rejoice in the Lord. We give thanks for His love. He is ‘the great God’. He is ‘our God’. He is the God of creation - ‘In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land’. He is the God of salvation - ‘We are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care’(3-5,7). If we are to learn to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving, we must open our hearts to Him: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’(7-8). When we hear the call to worship, we must open our hearts to the Spirit of worship.
Psalms 96:1-97:12
‘The Lord reigns’(96:10; 97:1). ‘The Lord is King!’. He is not only ‘the King all-glorious above’. He is ‘the King of love’. He is ‘our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’. He is not only ‘the King of heaven’. He is ‘the God of grace’. He is ‘the King of mercy’(Church Hymnary, 35,36,388,360,86). His reign is not to be restricted to some faraway heaven. It is not to be a reign that is far removed from the practicalities of our everyday life. He is to reign in our hearts. He is to reign in every part of our life. Let His reign of love begin. Let His grace and mercy control all that you do. We must pray, ‘Reign in me, Sovereign Lord, reign in me’. When we say, ‘Let Your Kingdom come’ and ‘let Your will be done’, we must pray, ‘Captivate my heart. Establish there Your throne’(Mission Praise, 570).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
Quiet Trust And Loud Praise
‘Be still, and know that I am God...Shout to God with loud songs of joy’(10; 47:2). In our worship, there is to be both quiet trust and loud praise. We read the great words: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’(46:1). God’s Word brings peace - ‘in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength’. We must not keep God’s blessing to ourselves. We must share it with joy - ‘Sing to the Lord...let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise in the coastlands’ (Isaiah 30:15; 42:10-12). The Lord is to be ‘exalted among the nations’. He is not only ‘our King’. He is ‘the King of all the earth’(10; 47:6-7). ‘Father (Jesus/Spirit), we love You. We worship and adore You. Glorify Your Name in all the earth’(Mission Praise, 142).
Psalm 48:1-14
‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised’(1). We worship God in the place of worship - ‘Within Your Temple, O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love’. Our worship must not end there. We are to play our part in seeing that the praise of the Lord ‘reaches to the ends of the earth’. We are to ‘be glad’ in the Lord. We are to ‘rejoice’ in Him (9-11). We must not keep this joy to ourselves. The Lord is ‘the joy of all the earth’. We must share His joy. We are to ‘tell the next generation’. How will they know if we do not tell them? Many are slow to come and worship the Lord. We must not be slow to witness for Him. Let’s remember God’s promise - ‘My Word...will not return to Me empty, but will...achieve the purpose for which I sent it’- and let’s say - ‘Here am I. Send me!’(Isaiah 55:11; 6:8).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com
Worshipping With Joy And Walking In Love, We Await Christ’s Return.
‘The times they are-a-changing’. There is, however, one thing that remains constant. Jesus says, ‘My words will not pass away’(Matthew 24:35).
In an age of unbelief, our faith is often under threat. We must stand upon this solid Rock: ‘The Word of the Lord stands forever’(1 Peter 1:25).
The scoffers will say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’(2 Peter 3:3-4). We are to believe that ‘He is near’(Matthew 24:33).
Christ has risen. He will return (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
When He returns need not concern us: ‘the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect’(Matthew 24:44).
We are to be ready at all times (Matthew 25:13) - doing the Lord’s will (Matthew 24:46).
We are to be ‘faithful and wise’(Matthew 24:45).
As ‘the bride of Christ’(Revelation 19:7; 21:2), we await the Return of Christ our Bridegroom: ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him’(Matthew 25:6).