Thursday, August 25, 2011

Psalm 67

1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Key Verse:
5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Key Observation:
This psalm is prophetic and full of God’s love for the people on the earth.

Memory Verse:
7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Devotion:
Matthew Henry makes an unreasonable comment: “He begins with a prayer for the welfare and prosperity of the church then in being, in the happiness of which he should share, and think himself happy, Ps. 67:1.” While the church might be mentioned symbolically (McGee thinks it is symbolic in Psalm 45) it is not proper interpretation to allude to it at all in this verse. God is talking to Israel by way of interpretation, and there may be proper applications to the church or to saints today, but application is an important distinction from interpretation. This is a psalm about Israel, and prophetically the application is in the millennial kingdom.

Sometimes Bible commentators take too much freedom from primary interpretation; Israel is the nation being referred to here, with prophetic hints at the millennium. “Thy way may be known upon the earth, thy saving health among all nations. For many years Bible scholars have emphasized the symbolic replacement of the church with Israel, something not taught at all from a careful study of scriptures. The first rule of good hermeneutics is “When the simple sense makes the best sense seek no other sense.” The church is not mentioned here; I wish Bible scholars would stop reading things into the text when they simply are not there. For many years through spiritualizing many passages to be talking about the church, when really they were talking about Israel, many in our church believed that God would come after heaven on earth was set up. Some are so fanatical, even after the horrific murders of millions in the 20th Century, that they still believe that mankind is capable of setting up heaven on earth. Not so! My Bible talks of the fallen nature of mankind, and when I look at even the best forms of government, I see them irretrievably fallen. McGee refers to the promise of Isaiah 49:13,
Sing O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
God says it plainly. Could it be any plainer? He did not say Israel, I am replacing you and giving your promises to the church. No, He plainly says “I will not forget thee.” Now you may choose not to believe God, but there should be no argument about what he plainly says. As for me and my house, we will believe the record that God has left to us.

This psalm does speak of a Father’s love for his children. When we have the proper ultimate outlook of God in view, “God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.” There is coming a day when our Father God will send his Son to rule the earth, beginning in Jerusalem, and going to the uttermost parts of the earth. What Love! How I should be motivated to think and dwell upon the things of God, for that which is to come is the only reality. Are you ready if His coming were today?


From George Strait, “A Father’s Love”

I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye
Fighting was against the rules and it didnt matter why
When Dad got home I told that story just like Id rehearsed
Then stood there on those trembling knees and waited for the worst

And he said, Let me tell you a secret, about a fathers love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said daddies dont just love their children every now and then
It's a love without end, amen, its a love without end, amen

No comments: