Ps. 68
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation” (Ps 68:19). Did you catch that? Daily! God is there, with us and for us, every.single.day.
Ps. 72
It appears that this Psalm could be David’s final blessing on Solomon before David’s death. And once again, I find it befitting of Jesus, who is the ultimate “royal son” (vs 1). This is one reason the Psalms make great prayers – if ever you want to praise our great Savior, just read some of these Psalms! – May He have dominion from sea to sea, to the ends of the earth! May all kings fall down before Him, all nations serve Him! For He delivers the needy when he calls, and precious is their blood in His sight. May prayer be made to Him continually, and blessings invoked for Him all the day! May His name endure forever, His fame continue as long as the sun!
Ps. 96
In Psalm 96:7 David says, “In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.” How unlike the ‘gods’ of the other nations, who can neither hear nor answer! David emphasizes this point in the following verses, “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.” (vs 8) “For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.” (vs 10) Which is why we can pray the next two verses with confidence. Back in the days when I would journal my prayers, I often used these two verses to book-end my confessions before God – my God who answers. “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” (vs 11-12)
John 14
On the heels of the “new command” that Jesus gave His apostles, He delves right into a pep talk, saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1a). He launches into an explanation of things they cannot yet understand; of why the things that are about to take place must be. Jesus will complete His work on Earth – by the Father’s command, for Satan has no claim on Him – and will return to the Father. His physical presence will be replaced by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit, and when the Sprit’s work is done, those who belong to Him – those who love Him – will be reunited with Him and the Father.
Two things I note from His pep talk. One, that God can and will do far greater work, via the Holy Spirit, through those who love Christ. The second is that Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Consider that He said this shortly after saying, ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another” (John 13:34). So if we love Christ, we will love one another (fellow believers). Boy, don’t we need to love God with our whole beings to be able to do that! Such a shame that so many of ‘God’s people’ get caught up arguing about little things that matter little instead of focusing on loving God and loving one another.