I’m feeling blank today. I don’t know if it’s because of everything that happen and everything that didn’t happen last week – all I know is that I’m not so sure about what I had in mind to share later this afternoon, and I don’t know what else could be discussed.
Feels like we all need a break – is that how it is? They need a break from my yapping, and I need a break to think things through..?
Nevertheless, I don’t think it’d be a waste of time for me to go through the Word, with no expectations.
I go through working out and end up with endorphins… Let’s see what we end up with after this.
Thank You, Lord, for the reading of Your Word.
And this… looks familiar.
Psalm 138
The LORD’s Goodness to the Faithful
A Psalm of David.
1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
Paul tells the Thessalonians to rejoice always; He tells the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, and again he says, rejoice.
The Psalmist here says he will praise the Lord… much like other contributors to the book of Psalms would write of how they would praise the Lord, at all times, with all their hearts; how His praise would constantly be on their lips.
I prefer to rejoice – that is, not only to sing the praises of God, but to willfully, joyfully, bless His name.
Ah, not much of a difference, but I couldn’t help but notice.
And, right. The Psalmist writes that he (and, consequently, we) praises the LORD with all his heart, before all other gods; He praises the LORD toward His holy temple, and he praises His name, recognizing His lovingkindness and truth… but, see, he also praises the LORD, because He has magnified His Word above all His name.
I know we touched base on this before – Dox pointed it out. But I suppose we’d do some good if we dug into it again.
To the line, ‘magnified Your word above all Your name‘, the ESV points us to Isaiah 42:21: The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
…and then we don’t see any other verses after that.
In this particular translation (together with the KJV and KNJV) the Psalmist is translated as writing that the LORD magnified His word ABOVE all His name, while other translations (AMP) indicate He magnified His word TOGETHER with His name.
In our gathering, though, I appreciate how is was approached by the New Living Translation:
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.
For the past 2 Sundays I have placed particular emphasis on our finding confidence and boldness in the promises of God, because Christ rose from the dead. This was all based on our digging into Paul’s elaborate response to folks in Corinth going around and saying that there was no resurrection.
One thing that I am reminded of here, though, is of even further, glorious implications of the finished work of Christ, and of His resurrection in particular; We read in the NLT version of Psalm 138:2 that God’s promises are backed up by the honor of His name, and I’m reminded of Philippians 2:8-11:
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Philippians 2:8-11
If I put all of this together: Because Christ became obedient to the point of the cross, God gave Him the name above every name. The Son of Man was hoisted up, nailed to a cross, yet even then was already highly exalted.
I’m not sure where I’m going here, but the name of the humble and obedient Christ was exalted as early as the cross, and His exaltation resulted in His complete death, to ensure His full resurrection, guaranteeing the total blessings of all who believe in Him: Salvation, reconciliation, righteousness, union, presence, love, peace, patience, joy, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, self-control, and so on, and so forth.
I suppose this ‘side quest’ would have us praising God, for through Christ, His Word and His Name are glorified.
We find ourselves trusting and depending on who God is (His Name), and what He says (His Word).
…and with all that in mind, I guess we’ll see more of the context as we go further down this Psalm. For, see, in this day and time, we have the luxury and privilege of automatically looking towards Christ and His finished work… but I believe stepping down and seeing these Old Testament accounts would have us appreciating the Lord (that is, His Name and His Word) more, both in terms of quality and quantity:
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.
Christ died and rose again, so we are assured that the LORD hears us when we cry, responding by way of making us bold, with ‘strength in (our) souls’.
Or, actually, it’s already just such a blessing to know that the Lord just… HEARS us. I could just imagine Christ hearing the cries of humanity and the groaning all of creation from the beginning through to the end of time, and answering us (according to His eternal wisdom, infinite power, matchless glory and everlasting love) by way of humbling Himself, becoming obedient to the point of the cross.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD.
The words of the Psalmist hit different when you read them from the context of Christ’s finished work.
God has fulfilled His promises, and has shown Himself true to His Word, through Christ and His finished work. We are all the more amazed, therefore, when we see and therefore sing of how Christ is not merely the fulfillment of the words of God’s mouth, but is, HIMSELF, the Word of Life, and the Living Word.
We join with the kings of the earth in praising Him, for we behold the glory of God and the completion of His ways, through Christ, who is, again, the Living Word, and the Word of Life.
6 Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.
8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
I said that this all looks familiar on the onset, because of those final verses – they’re one set of the number of sets of verses Charles Stanley mentioned in his recorded message for us during troubled times.
Feels like a weak close to all of it, but I just must say – Christ humbled Himself, died on the cross, and as early as then was glorified to the uttermost; This was ultimately tested by His complete death, proven and guaranteed by His full resurrection, and we celebrate by the Spirit (the Guarantee of our salvation), and the blessings just.. follow.
Because of Christ, we are favored by the LORD.
Because of Christ, we are revived. His right hand saves us. And as for our enemies, He stretches out His hand against their wrath.
And I like this one:
Because of Christ, the Lord perfects all that concerns me, and all that I’m concerned about.
Because of Christ, He causes all things – past, present, and future – to work for my good.
Because of Christ, He is faithful to finish the work He began in me.
And, right now, I’m just claiming – Because of Christ, I am thankful for clarity, I am thankful for provision, I am thankful for peace and purpose;
Because of Christ, I am thankful, sure, selfishly for reconciliation and a future according to my expectations and desires, but MORE because of the fact and truth that no matter what happens, it is the LORD who is glorified, and I am fully and completely satisfied when He is glorified.
Father, it’s a little more than a couple of hours before we gather to worship and I speak of You and Your Word… and I’m still blank. Whether this is by design or by my flaws, my trust is in You – do not let me be put to shame.
In the glorious name of Jesus, amen.
God bless you.
324015/365000
Leave a Reply