I will praise your name.

 

Friday, December 22, 2023


Psalm 118

Isaiah 24:21-25:9

Revelation 21:22-22:5


I will praise your name.


The mark of the Christian is the capacity for praise. Whether God lifts us up, or allows our path to wind through the valley of death, praise is continually on our lips.


God’s enemies win when we blame God for our troubles. This is because to blame God is to lie. God is light, in whom there is no darkness at all, and His steadfast love endures forever. Only good things come from our loving Father in heaven.


This way of seeing the world and our lives requires the corrective lens of scripture. Satan manipulates the world, and sends vile fiends to try and make us see things their way. It is easy to imagine how offensive and confusing Isaiah’s message must have been the first time it was heard: “You have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin.” How is this “a wonderful thing”?


Many things, both in our lives and out in the world, can seem like all hope is lost; that God has stopped loving us. But the shroud that is cast over all peoples must be removed; the covering that is spreading over all nations must be destroyed.


Nothing communicates this as well as the cross. Confusion and terror amongst Jesus’ disciples sent them fleeing. The midday sky turned black, there was an earthquake, and the Lord of Glory breathed His last. Yet this was the way in which God destroyed death; and on the third day, Jesus rose from the grave, and new life was given to all who believe.


Whether we are on the mountain or in the valley, we know God is in control, working all things for good for those that love Him. And so let all those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever”.

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