6/18/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Psalm for this week, Psalm 124, speaks to the power of the real God to deliver real people out of real danger. Over the generations, the people of Israel have endured many dangers. They have been invaded by enemies, attacked physically, spiritually, and economically, even taken captive en masse and deported into the lands of their conquerors. It would see that this small nation would have passed from existence several times over. However, time after time, the people of Israel have returned from their captivity. They escape.
The Psalmist gives all the credit for these escapes to the LORD, the one true God of all. He is the one who has been on the side of Israel. For this reason, he says in verse six, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth” (CSV). God’s glory is shown by his mercy demonstrated to his people.
Granted, we don’t ever have definitive knowledge of a “what if.” We truly don’t know what would have happened, given a different set of circumstances. But we do know this. The mercy of God shown to his people throughout history is impressive. There have been many times when all signs would suggest collapse and destruction. Yet God has always retained a remnant of the people He chose in Abraham to be a blessing to every nation.
In our current age, when it seems there is an air of hostility to all sorts of religions, but especially to Christianity, are we prepared to trust that the Lord will not abandon his people? Adopted by grace through faith in Christ, we can stand firm in the confidence that God has not changed. He is still the Lord who rescues people, just as he has always done in the past.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Psalm for this week, Psalm 124, speaks to the power of the real God to deliver real people out of real danger. Over the generations, the people of Israel have endured many dangers. They have been invaded by enemies, attacked physically, spiritually, and economically, even taken captive en masse and deported into the lands of their conquerors. It would see that this small nation would have passed from existence several times over. However, time after time, the people of Israel have returned from their captivity. They escape.
The Psalmist gives all the credit for these escapes to the LORD, the one true God of all. He is the one who has been on the side of Israel. For this reason, he says in verse six, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth” (CSV). God’s glory is shown by his mercy demonstrated to his people.
Granted, we don’t ever have definitive knowledge of a “what if.” We truly don’t know what would have happened, given a different set of circumstances. But we do know this. The mercy of God shown to his people throughout history is impressive. There have been many times when all signs would suggest collapse and destruction. Yet God has always retained a remnant of the people He chose in Abraham to be a blessing to every nation.
In our current age, when it seems there is an air of hostility to all sorts of religions, but especially to Christianity, are we prepared to trust that the Lord will not abandon his people? Adopted by grace through faith in Christ, we can stand firm in the confidence that God has not changed. He is still the Lord who rescues people, just as he has always done in the past.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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