Weekly Devotion ( Psalm 45-49)

Weekly Devotion ( Psalm 45-49)

Psalms  45

The psalmist was moved by the Holy Spirit to pour out a hymn of praise for the King's wedding! The writer of Hebrews places verses 6-7 directly on the Lord Jesus. "But of the Son he says,“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”." (Heb. 1:8-9) From this it seems that this psalm was not written entirely for the wedding of a king, but rather for the fulfillment of the "Messiah". All the people joyfully blessed the married king, whose garments were perfumed with all kinds of fragrances (8). The myrrh, incense and cinnamon in the text reminds us that when the Lord Jesus was born, the pilgrims offered gold, frankincense and myrrh (Mt 2:11), and His birth and even His life were filled with fragrance. When He was buried, Joseph and Nicodemus, who were secretly the Lord's disciples, perfumed His holy body with a hundred pounds of myrrh incense. His death, burial and resurrection were filled with fragrance (Jn 19:38-42). The garments of His majesty were also fragrant (having the form of God, meek and lowly...Philippians 2:5-11). But how is it that these same noble spices were present at the wedding? It is because this grand and magnificent wedding is a pointer to the future wedding feast of the Lamb Jesus Christ, which was accomplished by the victory over death, and by the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus, who will Himself be the sacrifice, with its fragrant aroma, for the glory of the wedding. This description fits perfectly with the Apostle Paul's statement in the Epistle to the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and have himself up for her," (Eph. 5:25). He died for sinners. He died for us. Why? He is the One who takes away the sin of all men. For He "could present [the church] to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any other kind of disease, but holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27)". May our church and all the churches of the world greatly manifest the holiness and glory of the Lord, and be fully clothed and prepared to welcome His return with joy and gladness, praying that the Holy Spirit's reminders will help us to be vigilant in our preparations and to seize every opportunity given by the Lord, and not to fritter it away in indolence!

Psalm 46

The psalmist experiences no fear! Who wouldn't be afraid in the midst of the shaking of the earth? How can one not be afraid? Yes! Because God is power. Why is the psalmist not afraid? Because there is help. The thing to be afraid of is to be alone in times of trouble, especially when things are coming at you like a mountain. But when we are in trouble, we are not afraid if we have help. God is able to help us in times of trouble, and He gives us help at all times (by word, by using the church, by circumstances, by people and things), and timely help from the Holy Spirit, etc. The psalmist declares that God is our Lord. The psalmist declares: God is our refuge (3 times), our strength, and our ready help in trouble. God's precious word is also a source of strength and comfort that accompanies one on the uneven path of childhood. Thank God for His Word! Just now in prayer, I realized that God has led me in every step of my life. No matter how humble I am, no matter how big or small things are, the Lord is always there to keep me safe and watch over me. No matter what happens to you, trust in God's faithfulness and justice (Ps 147:17-19)! At this moment, my heart is heaving with hot tears, and I can't calm down for a long time. At this moment (God is ours Ps 46:1, the pot is for refining silver Prov 17:3, we go through fire and water Ps 66:12, we will rely on you with a firm heart Isa 26:3, I will go up to the mountain Ps 121, who will make us Ps 8:35-39, I know Ps 4:12, because what has happened to me is Ps 39:9, if a man loves 1 Jn 2:15-17, we observe 1 Jn 5:3-5) these life-helping verses appeared, thank God's saving grace and his ongoing protection, watchfulness, and guidance, this time the heart welled up the hymn "Besides You" to praise God!!!!

Psalm 47

The psalmist's description of God's victory and the people's rejoicing expresses the psalmist's realization of God's power,(2) for the LORD Most High is fearful, and he is a great king over all the earth. God is great and fearful, and cannot be taken lightly, for He is the great King of all the earth, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. When we truly understand God's greatness and fearfulness, we will not be able to be afraid of man and not be afraid of God. On the contrary, we will definitely be afraid of God alone and not be afraid of anything in this world. God's greatness and fear: He rules over the whole earth (2), can call all nations and states to submit to our feet (3), chooses property for us (4), is the King of all the earth (7), rules over all the nations, sits on the throne (8), is the Most High, and attracts all the nations (9). Therefore our attitude toward God is: clapping and shouting (1), reverence (2), shouting and sending with horns (5), singing and praising (6-7). God is great and awesome, and this is especially evident in the fact that God hates all sin and will never settle for anything less than judgment. This is true of the Old Testament and even more so of the New Testament. It was God's will for Jesus to come into the world to save the world from sin, so that God's "wrath" against sin would not be directed at man, but would be directed at Jesus, which is the Father's grace. The Father's love is not to be nice and indifferent, but to be forgiving, patient, and to wait for repentance. Whoever lives a life of fear of God, that is, not daring to sin against God, honoring the Lord in all things, and faithfully obeying Him, will be protected, blessed, intimate with Him, and have no lack of any good thing, as God promises in the Bible. Whoever fears God, loves God. Those who have a casual attitude toward God, those who don't listen, those who are self-centered..., no matter how godly they appear to be in word or deed, they are not lovers of God, and to love God, we must first know the "fear of God". Pray that the Lord would guide us to know more about God's greatness and fear, so that we can be more obedient to Him in our lives and ministries, and live out a true life of worship!

Psalm 48

This chapter centers on Mount Zion, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple as a place of thanksgiving and praise for God's presence with, protection, and guidance of His people for all eternity. While these mountains, cities, and temples refer to a specific geography, it is more important to note that it is through these geographies that God is present with His covenant people. We are in the New Testament era where the Holy Spirit uses the inner man as a temple, and those who seek God are to become tightly connected to Him. God cannot dwell in the heart of a man who wants to make himself king unless we voluntarily retire from the throne of our lives and surrender our sovereignty to God, for the kingdom of God is all about a people who lay down their sovereignty and honor the Lord." For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul??" (Mt 16:25-26) We children of God are willing to lay down our own sovereignty in order to welcome the sovereign creator of the universe, the mighty God of salvation, the Jesus Christ who loves us, to live in our hearts, so that He can reign and rule on the throne of our hearts and be first in everything. Whoever is willing, God promises to protect and bless and guide us now and forever!

Psalm 49

This describes the evils that will befall the rich man who relies on his money: ignorance, the spreading of evil to his children and grandchildren, the destruction of his body and even of his soul (13-14), and the disappearance of money and vanity along with his death (17-19), just as the animals live for the pleasures of this world, but have no hope of eternity (20). Therefore, we do not need to be jealous or envious of the rich who rely on money in the world. The point is not money, but repentance and life (20). In fact, it has been mentioned time and again that money itself is a neutral substance, a resource for our survival. However, money is the most tempting substance in the world, capable of satisfying man's infinite selfish desires. It is no wonder that the Bible specifically mentions that covetousness is the root of all evil. Greed and dependence will make money our master and control our lives, leading to great disasters for our lives and souls. There are countless people who have sinned and fallen in matters of money, and their reputation has been ruined, their family has been destroyed, they have lost their lives, and they have even lost their souls. We need to be very careful and alert, and not to think that we can stand firm, but pray that the Lord will keep us with a righteous and clean heart. A person who knows how to make good use of money to serve God will be able to use our money to bless the lives of others and invest in God's kingdom, and God will give us eternal rewards. Therefore, the wisdom of using money is not to be greedy and not to be bound, but to surrender the Lord's authority, to manage faithfully, to invest for eternity, and to be a good steward of God's many gifts!