... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
To the chief Musician on Gittith, [A Psalm] of Asaph.
Sing aloud to God our strength. Make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob. Take a psalm.
Bring the tambourine, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day: for this [was] a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. This He ordained in Joseph [for] a testimony, when He went out
through the land of Egypt: [where] I
heard a language that I understood not.
I removed his shoulder from the burden.
His hands were delivered from the pots.
You called in trouble. I
delivered you. I answered you in the
secret place of thunder. I proved you at
the waters of Meribah. Consider.
Hear, My people. I will testify against you. O Israel, if you will listen to Me, there
shall no alien god be among you. Nor
shall you worship any alien god. I [am] the Lord your God,
Who brought you from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide. I will fill
it. But My people would not listen to My
voice. Israel would [have] none of Me. So I gave them up to their own hearts’
lust. They walked in their own
counsels. Oh that My people had listened
to Me, Israel had walked in My ways! I
should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned My hand against their
adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves to Him: for their time would have
endured forever. He would have fed them
also with the finest of wheat. With
honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1]
Asaph delivers the legal charges against Judah in two parts. Psalm 81 explains why the people that were
chosen are now rejected. This Psalm is
the prophetic precursor of Matthew 23:37-39 and Luke 13:34-35. It explains why the kingdom of God was ripped
out of the hands of the Jews and given to The Church on earth. It also explains what will happen to The
Church if she ever ceases to bring forth the fruit of the kingdom (Matthew
21:43-44; John 15:1-8).
Asaph provides a litany of things that were supposed to be
thriving in Judah’s worship. Evidently,
these have ceased, because Asaph makes the point that this used to be a
statute, this was ordained, this applied way back when I rescued you from the
slavery of Egypt. Asaph seems to be
focusing our attention on things that have been forgotten, things that should
not have been forgotten.
Now Asaph explains why God has stopped protecting Judah. Judah stopped listening, they returned to
idol worship, they stopped looking to God as the Source of their provision. If they had only listened to the precious
voice of prophecy, that regular conversation with God, which was their special
privilege as a chosen vessel: chosen, not to be better than other people, but
chosen to serve God, and all other people; chosen to lead the world in
worship. If they had only listened. Now they are branded “the haters of
God.” Instead of mere water from the
rock, God would also have brought honey from the rock. This rock is Jesus. Worshipping Him, with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, brings the very best of eternal heavenly rest. We must listen if we wish to enter into God’s
rest. Are we listening?
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