SUNDAYS

Back in Ephesians 4, Paul’s calls upon the churches at Ephesus for unity. Back in May, when we studied Ephesians, I made this note, “Paul speaks of this unity as being worthy of the call of following Christ. You see, this is not for the sake of looking the part more than it is about acting the part. He uses terms like humble, gentle, patience and love. He builds on these concepts by comparing our unity to one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father.” I love when there is a connection or parallel from the New Testament, further bringing these two Testaments as one Book, connecting creation to the return of Jesus, cover to cover. David writes this psalm celebrating his unity with his brothers, because they all share the same Father. As noted above, these are characteristics of our faith in Christ, loving one another. 

#jesus #biblestudy

This is a psalm that speaks to God’s providential choosing of Israel. We see this as a bit of a fulfillment to what is known as the Davidic Covenant, found in 2 Samuel 7:4-16. Ultimately, this covenant has been fulfilled in Christ, the rightful Ruler of Israel and all of creation. Back in 1 Chronicles 22, David tells Solomon of his heart’s desire to build the temple for the Lord, we also see this in Psalm 73:25 (from Asaph), when he says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” You see, our desire should be only for our Lord. The temple was built so that Israel could go to a place to commune with the Lord. What makes this psalm neat is that we see that this pilgrimage has finally reached its destination, Zion. Verses 13-14 bring us to the idea of being chosen. The psalmist says that Zion (Israel) is the chosen city. Moses was chosen by God. Joshua was chosen. David, we know was chosen. The disciples were chosen by Jesus to follow him. If we are His chosen people (those who follow Christ), then we know also from this Psalm and the Scriptures that we must be obedient to His statutes. Not because we have to, but in response to His holiness. I know I say that a lot, but I think it’s important to remember. This psalm, like many before it, points us to Jesus, and to His future seat as King over it. Until then, when we reach our destination, we celebrate the Lord and all His doing, tell others about His and live to honor Him. 

#jesus #biblestudy

I’ve noted before that I really enjoy the shorter Psalms, as many times it allows me to add the passage into my post. As you likely figured out by now, I’ve inserted the Psalm below: 

“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”

As we’ve also seen previously, while small, these psalms are not usually small in its message. This psalm is a prayer from a humble person of God. In the first verse we see that he had not lifted his heart or his eyes, which symbolizes pride and arrogance. We further see that he focuses on the Lord, not concerning himself with matters that are too big for him. Instead, his soul is quiet and calm, fully trusting in the Lord. Finally the plea for Israel in the last verse comes, with trust in the Lord as the request. When we approach our Lord, we too should be quiet and calm, and trust in His response, having our hope in Him alone. 

#jesus #biblestudy