Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.
I love Psalms. Psalms has a calming effect on me. About half of Psalms finds David running for his life and crying out to God for deliverance. Now, I can’t really relate to running for my life, but I can relate to crying out to God for deliverance. David’s songs are a reminder of God’s might and abilities.
Yes, I said songs. Most of these songs were meant to be sung as praise. You are going to just want me to read them out loud, not sing them. Back down on Pine Street, our church choir created a number of beautiful banners that they would use during special music. They asked me to lead when we carried them down the aisle and displayed them. I finally realized that this was just their clever way of keeping me out of the choir loft. Took me a while, but I’m on to them now.
Most scholars, of which I am not, believe that Psalms 47 is a song praising God for his deliverance against Israel’s enemies. In 2 Chronicles 2, the Meunites, Moabites, and the Ammonites have joined forces with a massive army and are about to invade Judah. King Jehoshaphat cried out to God for deliverance. God speaks through a man called Jahaziel and says, “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” You need to read this and see what happened. Here is the short version. The three of them basically turned against each other and completely destroyed each other, leaving no one alive. The scripture said it took God’s people three days to haul off all the loot they left behind.
Another divine deliverance this chapter may have been referring to comes out of 2 Kings 19. My all-time favorite Old Testament story. This is movie-worthy. Where is Hollywood when you need it? In this story, we find the Assyrians wreaking havoc throughout the land. They have conquered one nation after another. Each time they destroyed a country, they would make a statement by publicly burning the god/idol that was being worshipped in that country. The Assyrians, with their army of 185,000 men, camped outside of Judah and sent a message to King Hezekiah telling him that they were going to do to Judah what they had done to every other country, including burning their god in the fire. Shouldn’t have said that. King Hezekiah took the letter, laid it on the altar, and basically said, “God, we don’t have the army to fight this guy. This is between You and him. We need help.” God replied in verses 32-33, “He shall not come to this city, or shoot an arrow there; … by the way he came, the same way he shall return.” Then, watch this: “Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead” (verse 35). Now, that is the original Shock and Awe!
Wow! What a deliverer we have! Chapter 47 ends by reminding us that the entire Earth belongs to God. He is certainly worthy to be praised.
Chapter 48 continues with reminders of why God should be praised. Greatly to be praised (verse 1), He is a fortress (verse 3), steadfast in love (verse 9), filled with righteousness (verse 10), and worthy to judge (verse 11). But my takeaway verses are verses 13-14: “…that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” After all that God has done and continues to do in our life, our job is to tell it. Let the next generation know about Him. It’s not like our world is going to do this. It is our job. Plan A from the start. There is no Plan B.
Do you start your prayer each day by praising Him, the Only Name worthy to be praised and adored? Make sure you include this in your prayer life. What has God delivered you from during your life? Tell someone about it.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.
Reflection:
- Use the S.O.A.P. Method to study God’s Word.
- SCRIPTURE: What stands out to you in today’s passage?
- OBSERVATION: What is this text saying? What is the context? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? Are there any commands, instructions, or promises?
- APPLICATION: How can you apply this verse to your life? What does this mean today? What is God saying to you?
- PRAYER: Respond to the passage in prayer. Ask God to help you apply this truth to your life and spend some time listening to what He may be telling you.
The Way of Jesus: 7 Marks of Discipleship
As we begin a new series, we encourage you to lean into the 7 Marks of Discipleship each week. The 7 Marks of Discipleship provide a simple tool to help us identify areas where we are thriving in our calling and where we can grow. Check here each week for a new 7 Marks Challenge that will encourage you to follow Jesus closer every day.
