Psalm 67
If a person has known the Lord for any time, they know that the blessings that come down from the Lord are to be desired. But how do those blessings come? The Spirit of the Lord reveals one way to us through this Psalm. The Scriptures here reveal to us a circle, if you would, of blessing. This circle repeats itself over and over in the life of a child of God.
In verse 1-2, we see the grace of God. This is truly the only way blessings begin. We wouldn’t know anything about God, Who He is, or what His love desires to extend to us if it weren’t for His grace. He is Spirit and we are flesh. He is supernatural and we are natural. He is so far above us. The flow of blessing begins one way. It has to begin with God. And not just with Him, but specifically, it begins with His grace. We are not deserving of His blessings nor could we ever earn them. God’s act of blessing His children is purely on love and unmerited favor. He reveals Himself to us, and with that revelation comes blessing.
As blessing comes from His grace, its purpose is to reveal to this world the character and ways of God. The only way that mankind will know the blessings of God is if God reveals His blessings to them.
In verses 3-5, we see the results of these blessings of grace—the people and the nations break forth in praise and worship back to the King Who rendered the blessings of grace. As Scripture tells us that we love Him because He first loved us, so too we bless Him with praise and worship because He has first blessed us.
In verse 4-5, we see an upward spiral effect in fact to blessing God. So what actually happens when we bless God? He in turn pours out greater blessing on us. Our land will yield a harvest and God blesses us. From there, we in turn bless God again and the Circle of Blessing continues. Praise God for opening the door of His blessing to us.
"Concentrated Capsules"
1 Kings 1:41-2:18
What would you say if you were in the final moments of your life and you knew it? As your life flashes before you, and you relive all that has been accomplished, what would you pull out of your life as a “concentrated capsule” to give to those around you that you have gleaned from your life?
King David, considered by many to be Israel’s greatest king, is laying on his bed entering the final days, perhaps even the final hours of his life. His decision was to entrust in his son, now the new king of Israel, his “concentrated capsules” gleaned from a very active life for God. He had great success and great failure and both had been used of God to forge him into a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Now he wanted these lessons of life to be passed on to the next generation. What would he say? What would he consider important? What does a man of God say on his death bed? David considered this thought his most important:
“And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses…”
(1 Kings 2:3)
What David was saying was this: “If there is anything I have learned in my lifetime, it is simply…God’s Word works. Be sure to do everything the Word of God directs you to do. It will prove to be most beneficial to you. His statutes, commandments, judgments and testimonies are the most important things you will need to live this life.
Now think that through. David wasn’t a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination. Yet in the end, he proved himself truly successful and this “concentrated capsule” was the secret to his success. God was the secret to his success. And God can be the secret to our success as well.
David gives his son a second. This capsule wasn’t a charge, it was a promise. A promise from God:
“And keep the charge of the Lord your God…that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn…”
This should get our attention. There is not a sane person alive that doesn’t want to prosper or be successful. Mind you, this success is not measured by the world’s standards but by God’s standards. And in the end, His way of success truly proves to be the greatest.
This is a promise from God. As we put Him first in our life, and seek to obey Him with all our heart, He will make our way prosper in everything we do and wherever we turn. And even in those days when hardship and tragedy strike, God will turn those things around for the forging of our good.
We need this! Who would want to waste their life on purpose when they have the opportunity to be eternally successful in the hands of a gracious and mighty God?
David then served up his last capsule:
And keep the charge of the Lord your God…4that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
Now obviously this specific promise isn’t for us. Our posterity isn’t going to sit on a throne ruling a nation. However, the Lord does have a destiny for each of us—that special purpose in which we were created. For each one of us, that destiny is different, but for every one of us, that purpose is very special. God gives us today the promise that if we will keep His Word, He will fulfill in us the purpose in which we were made. For each of us, when we fulfill the destiny of our lives, our lives will be most rewarding.
God has some “concentrated capsules” in His Word for each of us today just waiting to be discovered. And as we apply our lives to His Word, we will find that the words of a godly man on his death bed still ring true today.
What would you say if you were in the final moments of your life and you knew it? As your life flashes before you, and you relive all that has been accomplished, what would you pull out of your life as a “concentrated capsule” to give to those around you that you have gleaned from your life?
King David, considered by many to be Israel’s greatest king, is laying on his bed entering the final days, perhaps even the final hours of his life. His decision was to entrust in his son, now the new king of Israel, his “concentrated capsules” gleaned from a very active life for God. He had great success and great failure and both had been used of God to forge him into a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Now he wanted these lessons of life to be passed on to the next generation. What would he say? What would he consider important? What does a man of God say on his death bed? David considered this thought his most important:
“And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses…”
(1 Kings 2:3)
What David was saying was this: “If there is anything I have learned in my lifetime, it is simply…God’s Word works. Be sure to do everything the Word of God directs you to do. It will prove to be most beneficial to you. His statutes, commandments, judgments and testimonies are the most important things you will need to live this life.
Now think that through. David wasn’t a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination. Yet in the end, he proved himself truly successful and this “concentrated capsule” was the secret to his success. God was the secret to his success. And God can be the secret to our success as well.
David gives his son a second. This capsule wasn’t a charge, it was a promise. A promise from God:
“And keep the charge of the Lord your God…that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn…”
This should get our attention. There is not a sane person alive that doesn’t want to prosper or be successful. Mind you, this success is not measured by the world’s standards but by God’s standards. And in the end, His way of success truly proves to be the greatest.
This is a promise from God. As we put Him first in our life, and seek to obey Him with all our heart, He will make our way prosper in everything we do and wherever we turn. And even in those days when hardship and tragedy strike, God will turn those things around for the forging of our good.
We need this! Who would want to waste their life on purpose when they have the opportunity to be eternally successful in the hands of a gracious and mighty God?
David then served up his last capsule:
And keep the charge of the Lord your God…4that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
Now obviously this specific promise isn’t for us. Our posterity isn’t going to sit on a throne ruling a nation. However, the Lord does have a destiny for each of us—that special purpose in which we were created. For each one of us, that destiny is different, but for every one of us, that purpose is very special. God gives us today the promise that if we will keep His Word, He will fulfill in us the purpose in which we were made. For each of us, when we fulfill the destiny of our lives, our lives will be most rewarding.
God has some “concentrated capsules” in His Word for each of us today just waiting to be discovered. And as we apply our lives to His Word, we will find that the words of a godly man on his death bed still ring true today.
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