Psalm 115
1Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
2Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
3But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
5They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
9O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
10O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
11Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
12The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
14The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
15Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
16The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
18But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
Chapter 115
I am reminded that God has all the glory in circumstances where His mercy (or love) and truth shine (v. 1). In my darkest moment, I remember His love and truth shining through. He showed me love by protecting me from the enemy. He me truth by showing me that the enemy was trying to deceive so I wouldn't have to give into his lies. I thank Him for that and I will say that He has all the glory for those things because I had no part in doing those things. I can't say I've really ever dealt with anyone who has questioned where God is (v. 2), but I think they should take the time to realize that God is in heaven, which is where He operates from and does as He sees fit (v. 3). I may have said this before, but I don't believe heaven is some place in the clouds, but rather where God is since He's omnipresent. I don't worship idols, so verses 4-8 don't apply to me, but I will say that it would be pointless or meaningless for me to do so and that God would look down upon it. And since I don't trust in idols, I place my trust in God (vv. 9-11). So much good comes from that because since I trust in Him, He is my help and my shield, which is something only He could live up to. He helped me out during my darkest moment by freeing me from the enemy's grip and He acted as my shield by protecting me while He dealt with the enemy. I trusted that He would and He did, which is something I'll always remember as a way of showing how He's worked in my life. In verse 12, what "The LORD hath been mindful of us" means to me is that God pays attention to what's going on with His people and He knows when they do things that glorify Him. I do do things to glorify Him and He does bless me. I'd say that when I serve in church, I am sometimes blessed by experiencing the Holy Spirit's presence, which I think I've talked about before. And with that in mind, I see verse 13 as a promise since by fearing Him and continuing to do so, I will be blessed. I can express my fear or reverence towards Him by doing things that glorify Him, such as worship hosting. I can also do artwork for Him and blessed if that speaks to others and helps them out in life. I can't say I've made a difference in someone's life through my artwork, but it'd be cool if God wanted to use me that way. I don't have children (v. 14), but I know that if I did the Lord would bless me and my children. I don't have anything to say about verses 15-17, but verse 18 reminds me that praising God is a continual, ongoing thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment