Wednesday Good Evening!!! PLEASE give the Lord your undivided attention as you worship Him in song.
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The Songs of Ascents Pt. 4
Well tonight we finish up the lat of the Songs of Ascents with chapters 132-134.
These three chapters are exceedingly small, but powerful in their brevity.
Psalm 132 seems to have been written following the Babylonian exile, with the psalmist standing, as it were, in the rubble of the temple destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar 70 years prior. This psalm is an appeal to God to return the Ark of the Covenant to the temple and sites God’s promise and intervention on behalf of David when he had done the same many years prior.
Psalm 133 is a priestly psalm which makes use of imagery form the anointing of the priests into their office where they stood before God on behalf of Israel and stood before Israel on behalf of God. It ends with a prophetic statement which would be easy to miss. That the blessing God commanded over Zion which has its ultimate fulfillment in the church, is where God has commanded His abundant blessing of eternal life!
Finally in Psalm 134 which had a predictive meaning for Israel at the time, is another priestly psalm making mention of the services performed by the priests in the Tabernacle of Meeting. Ultimately it does this as an elaborated way of expressing the union and intimacy with God we now enjoy as priests unto our God under the New Covenant.
These wrap up the pilgrim songs – those sung by Israel as they ascended the hill leading up to Jerusalem and the temple on their 4 annual and required feasts.
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Ministry, Love & Renewing the Mind Pt. 2
Today we went further in our studies of the connection between renewing the mind, love and desiring spiritual gifts. The interplay between these is undeniable and are key to spiritual maturity – both of the person desiring to be used in Spiritual gifts as well as those being ministered to.
We examined what the scriptures lay down as the methodology of this process and then dove right into defining what are spiritual gifts anyway. We closed out by reading through two of the non-comprehensive lists of these gifts given in scripture.
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The Songs of Ascent Pt. 3
These Pilgrim Psalms cover the topics of God’s protection over Israel, the power and purpose of His merciful forgiveness & the need for humility and not getting involved with earthly things of high-mindedness or the pursuit of wealth.
In Chapter 129, the psalmist addresses the undercurrent of general faith most of Israel had regarding the protection of the Lord for their land and nation. That God would bless those who blessed them and curse. Of course at times their “faith” certainly took the form of presumption. In any case this psalmist is encouraging Israel to acknowledge that though they had been sorely treated by their enemies, the Lord has not allowed them to permanently prevail against them.
In Psalm 130 God’s forgiveness for His people is mentioned in connection with the effect it has of producing reverential fear for God leading to a change of actions. That forgiveness of sins precedes times of chastening where through faith and endurance God effects a more lasting change in us as the Potter has over the clay.
Finally in Psalm 131 David, himself a king, makes the decision to not be high minded nor concern himself with things too profound for him nor in the pursuit of earthly wealth. That instead he quieted his heart before God and placed his hope in Him.
These lessons are repeated throughout both testaments making them timeless and not isolated in time to one covenant or another since they are issues of heart and character. We spent some time exploring these topics as they appear in the New Testament in order to establish a clear connection with New Covenant life in Christ.
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Ministry, Love & Renewing the Mind
There is a certain, yet not-so-obvious connection between renewing the mind, deepening in our knowing and experience in the Love of God and ministry. Though indirectly, most Christians who are very familiar with the passages we covered this morning would be passively aware of the connection, it would greatly surprise me if it is something they have really pieced together in a way which flows logically from one thing to the other.
Our two New Testament writers we read from this morning are Peter and Paul. Two very different men in terms of temperament and ministry, but both very much in step and agreement due to their being led by the Spirit’s influence in their teachings and letters.
Paul stresses the need for the renewing of the mind and setting our thoughts on spiritual things rather than being preoccupied with the affairs of this life. Peter encourages us to prepare our lives for the inevitable spiritual battles we have by assuming the same way of thinking as Jesus did in His earthly life. That such would lead us to victory over the flesh in regard to sin.
Then Peter presses the need for loving our fellow Christian with fervor and devotion, something Paul also stresses in regard to overcoming the flesh. Then they both – Peter in 1 Peter 4 and Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 – stress the need to be good stewards of the grace gifts God has given each one of us as expressions of the aforementioned brotherly love.
It is almost as if both letters were written in collaboration with each other or one was strongly influenced by the other due to the development and flow of the thoughts expressed in them.
In any case, this is the direction our lessons went this morning. Again, not an obvious development line upon line, but I think as you listen you will discover a pattern witnessed elsewhere in scripture which outlines similar movement from one thing to the next.
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