Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ
Our watchword for today is taken from Psalm Thirty Four verse Three, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together,” (NRSVB). David, the poet of this psalm, penned this prayer to God in a time when he was a fugitive. The thoughts and meditations of his heart urged him to praise the Lord, despite the dangerous circumstances around him. His thoughts, focussing on God, calmed him and he drew strength from reciting passages of Scripture and Songs that he learnt as part of his worship practice. David wrote down his thoughts and prayers and gave his collection of works to the temple musicians after returning to Jerusalem. His prayers have been used for three millennia instructing worshippers to praise God with reverent fear and awe. The Book of Psalms is a beloved text that believers turn to throughout life, for the Book of Psalms unites our voices in prayer and praise. Thousands upon thousands of hymns and songs have been composed using the words of the psalmists. We are truly continuing to magnify the Lord, and exalt his name together, through our songs and prayers. In this psalm we are reminded that God hears the cries of those who are burdened and fearful. He comes to save and deliver those who call on him out of their trouble. We can praise God in times of distress for we have the quiet confidence that he will come to rescue us. He instructs his angels to encamp around those who fear them. David relied on the Lord; he confidently trusted that his deliverance will come from the hand of the Lord. Even though he had to wait for awhile, he could be calm, making good decisions and praising God in the storm.
The Word of God is not a book filled with dead letters and archaic ideas. It is not a human source of promises. It is the Scripture, the Holy Word of God. God’s words create, he calls into being things that are not and bring about miracles speaking only a word. Jesus spoke to the storm and it became calm. Jesus spoke words of healing and sickness departed. Jesus is the Enfleshed Word of God. He has the vivifying power to call into being all forms of deliverance and peace that believers need to protect and nurture them. God has given us faith, this faith is a gift of grace, bringing us to the foot of the Cross to see from where our help comes. Our help is from the Lord who was raised on the Cross for us He suffered – alone – for us, so that we will not suffer alone, but will experience the fulfilment of every promise that has been written down in the Scripture. God’s words will perform for us the promises that he has given. Let us have faith in God’s promises for us, as David did, and let us continue to wait on his deliverance. We need to be reassured and constantly delivered from those fears and worries that overwhelm us. God is a loving father, he delights in coming to aid his children.
The Apostle Paul wrote in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter One verse Twenty, “For in Jesus Christ everyone of God’s promises is a “Yes” and an “Amen,” to the glory of God,” (NRSVB). We can come boldly to the Word of the Lord and take his promises and hold onto them. They are written for us to trust, to believe and to cling to. Through the work of Jesus Christ, God has pronounced he “Yes” over us. Christ’s suffering on the Cross was to conquer and destroy the power of every wrong thought, word and deed, committed in this world. The wrongs committed in past, being committed in the present and those that would be committed in the future have been atoned for by Jesus Christ. God’s word will not return to him empty but will achieve the purposes and plans that he intended. His plan has always been to reconcile the world back to Him, through his Son. He promised that he will send his Son to save the world, this promise has been fulfilled. He gave us his Son as gift, he gave us his grace and he perfects our faith to see and rejoice in his “Yes” spoken over us.
Father, we thank you that you have given us your storehouse of promises that are true and unchangeable through the Work of Jesus. We bless your holy Name and exalt you with all the believers through the ages. We pray that you will work in us to experience your promises of comfort and consolation, Amen.