Psalm 72:18-19 "Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen."
This is an interesting passage. For most of it, David describes the role of a righteous king – protecting the innocent, punishing the wicked, etc. But he begins by appealing to God's wisdom, asking for God to "endow the king with [His] justice." And he ends with these verses, putting everything into perspective. A righteous ruler is a gift to his or her people, but everything that ruler does is subject to God's authority.
Ultimately, all that we do is not to make us look good. Everything that we do and say is to bring glory to God. That should be our focus, our driving goal – to praise our God. That's how I want to live my life, not focused on advancing my own glory, but rather advancing His.
Psalm 73:2 "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."
It is so hard, sometimes, to watch people prosper while blaspheming God. It's so hard for us to understand when wicked people seem to get away with their crimes and even get fabulously wealthy. The world is so unfair, it seems.
But, as the psalmist says in verse 17, "then I understood their final destiny." We may struggle or even suffer for a little while here on earth, but we have an eternity of joy with God. The wicked may enjoy themselves for a while, but their eternity is darkness and separation from God. That's not the path I want to take.
Psalm 75:7 "But it is God Who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another."
It's so easy to seek man's favor, to crave recognition from the world. We want to be noticed and appreciated. We want to succeed.
But we're looking in the wrong place.
It's God Who bestows favor on and gives us success. He puts us exactly where we're supposed to be. God has a purpose and a plan, and He rules the universe.
What do these verses say to you? What's God been teaching you lately? Let me know in the comments!
I like these verses!
ReplyDeleteThey bring to mind the sovereignty of God. That's something I've been learning lately. It's a broad message, and sometimes difficult- but a good lesson.
Uff, the sovereignty of God. That is something He has to teach me every. single. day. Thanks for commenting!
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