This psalm reminds us we can call out to God from anywhere, anytime. He has no boundaries. “From the ends of the earth” I will cry out. What does that even mean? No matter the location we are assured, as is the writer here, that God is our refuge and we can ask to live forever in his protection.
The psalmist speaks of an “inheritance”, and we, as Christians, know that inheritance to be eternal life with God. I wonder what that meant to the writer?
Have you felt overwhelmed this week? Let the comfort of verse 2 and 3 wash over you. God is our rock and our salvation!
One thing that struck me with this psalm starts in verse 6. The focus abruptly shifts to another person, the king. No longer is the intimate cry between man and God, but man is asking God for help for someone else, a particular person. I suppose that is not unlike our own prayer lives where we perhaps even have a list of people that we pray for with given concerns at any one time. And in this case, the psalmist is looking out for the king. In contrast to so many psalms where the psalmist is crying out for God’s wrath on his enemies.
The last line of the psalm reads, “Then I will always sing praises to your name.” Did the word “then” catch for you too? In checking the translation, it is a strong preposition suggesting the praise “relies” on God’s action first. In other words, God moves, the psalmist sings praise. For me, I want my heart to be praising God 24/7, not just when good things happen. How about you? Do you have a song of praise in your heart at all times or just when something good happens?
Take a moment now to think about the last week. How have you praised God with your life?
Let’s pray. Thank you for my life and those who I have crossed paths with. I have so much to be thankful for. I pray for those who do not know you and your love and mercy. I pray that they will come to a place of calling on you from where they are, that they will praise you and call you Lord. I praise you for your goodness and your protection. Guard me today and may every word and deed be to your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Paul concludes his first letter to the Corinthians in this chapter. He is wrapping up his teaching to them on practices for worship and an understanding of the truth. He is winding down and bidding them farewell. He lets them know what to expect from him and other believers. There is an open line of communication and he is being totally transparent.
This was a little longer reading than most days, but it all seemed to fit together so I chose not to split it up. Resurrection is a big deal, so let’s see if we can unpack it a little bit together.
This passage has some interesting and troubling things to say. Having grown up Lutheran (not charismatic Lutheran), I didn’t have much exposure to speaking in tongues. There is a lot of emphasis here on that, and I think that is helpful for the whole church. The gift of tongues is a precious gift, but not all have it, and when we hear such a beautiful, unknown language being spoken, it is impossible to be strengthened when you don’t have an understanding. For the person speaking, there is a true manifestation of the spirit, for it is the spirit within us speaking, so the benefit is limited to the speaker.
How we handle our spiritual gifts is very important. Paul cautions us here to be careful in how, when and where we use our gifts. He places a lot of emphasis on the gift of prophecy being a very helpful gift, and those who can speak in tongues must watch that they don’t exclusively talk in the Spirit lest those around them that cannot speak or cannot understand are left out. It is not God’s intention that we set ourselves apart because of our gifts. To the contrary, we are to use our gifts to glorify him and help each other.
