Filled with His Glory

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 72:15–20 (ESV)

¹⁵ Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day! ¹⁶ May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field! ¹⁷ May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! ¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! ²⁰ The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Understanding and Applying the Word

These verses begin with a call for long life for the king and then requests that the people pray for the king. Also, there is a prayer for gold and an abundance of food and crops for the land. In verse 17 we see the nations recognizing this king’s reign and submitting to him, not out of subjection, but because they find their blessing in him.

As we have mentioned previously, this psalm does not describe any earthly king who has ever reigned, but the rule of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would be blessed and that through his seed the nations would be blessed. It is through the Messiah, the descendant of Abraham, that the world finds its blessing. Jesus Christ came to remove the curse of the fall and restore the world to what it was intended to be. It is through Christ’s reign that we find life in abundance. May the whole earth be filled with his glory!

**Shaped by the Word is a daily Bible reading devotional. Please use the links at the bottom to subscribe to this page. You can also share this post with your friends through social media using the buttons below. Thanks for reading!

From Sea to Sea

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Aaditya Arora on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 72:8–14 (ESV)

⁸ May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! ⁹ May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! ¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! ¹¹ May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! ¹² For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. ¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. ¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.

Understanding and Applying the Word

After opening this psalm with a prayer of blessing for a newly inaugurated king, verses 8-11 go on to speak of the realm of the king’s reign. “May he have dominion from sea to sea,” says the psalmist. This is the prayer that the king’s dominion will be universal and that his reign will be acknowledged by the nations.

In verses 12-14 we again read that this king will be a defender of the weak and oppressed and will see to it that they receive justice.

These verses do not describe any government or ruler from history, but point us to the kingdom of God and the one true King who will rule the nations in justice. It is God’s plan to bring all things in heaven and earth under the rule of Jesus Christ, the Son (cf. Ephesians 1:10). As believers, we look forward to the day when the world will be as it should be and all people will be treated equally and with justice. We work to that end even now as we wait for the righteous and just King who will reign over all.

The King of Justice

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 72:1–7 (ESV)

¹ Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! ² May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! ³ Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! ⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! ⁵ May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! ⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! ⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

Understanding and Applying the Word

Many scholars believe that this psalm is a prayer for the inauguration of a king. The prayer asks that the king would be one who ruled justly and championed the cause of the people, especially the oppressed of society. The prayer understands that when justice is practiced the nation flourishes in every way.

Throughout the history of the world, there have been societies that were better and worse at practicing justice. We can even see that this is still the case in our world today. One thing is certain though: there has never been a nation/government/ruler who ruled in perfect justice. In every time and place, people have been treated unfairly and been the subject of oppression. The Bible gives us hope that one day there will be a righteous King who will rule over the people with perfect justice (Isaiah 11:1-9). In that day the world will prosper under his rule and authority. Come, King Jesus!

You Know My Reproach

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 69:19–21 (ESV)

¹⁹ You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. ²⁰ Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. ²¹ They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Understanding and Applying the Word

When we read these words of David, we may at first find them discouraging. David speaks of the pain and suffering he was facing as well as the lack of anyone to give him comfort or support. However, notice how he begins verse 19: “You know my reproach.” David knew he was not truly alone. God knew what he was going through.

These words also remind us of our Savior as he hung on the cross at Calvary. He too was mocked and ridiculed. He was abandoned by his friends. And He was given sour wine to drink. God Himself felt the same things that David felt.

Jesus walked in our shoes. He has felt the pain of this world. He has been mocked and ridiculed. He has been lied to. He has been treated unfairly. He knows what it is like to be abandoned and alone. God knows our pain, not just from afar, but because He became man. He truly knows our reproach. Because of this truth, we can be assured of His love for us and we can go to Him in our times of trouble. Let us find encouragement in David’s words and in the cross of our Lord.

For Your Sake

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 69:7–12 (ESV)

⁷ For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. ⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. ⁹ For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. ¹⁰ When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. ¹¹ When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. ¹² I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.

Understanding and Applying the Word

As David continues to call out to God he states that it his devotion to God that has caused him trouble. He has faced social rejection and even his family has turned on him. David is committed to God. He says that he is zealous for Him, but his zeal has been met with resistance from others.

We live in a world not unlike David’s. Those who desire to follow Christ with all of their hearts are often mocked and ridiculed as being ignorant and naive by unbelievers. We are not really surprised by this, but we are surprised that even among fellow believers, those who show too much zeal are often criticized as being too serious or being too religious.

As we live our lives for Christ, we must keep in mind the words He spoke to His disciples:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18, ESV)

Let us seek God’s glory in all that we do even if the world turns against us for it!

Praise the Conquering King

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 68:32–35 (ESV)

³² O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah³³ to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. ³⁴ Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. ³⁵ Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Understanding and Applying the Word

What wonderful words of praise end this psalm! Sing praises to God!

Throughout Psalm 68 God is praised as the past, present, and future Savior of Israel. So, when we come to the end, it is little surprise that we are urged to join in worship. In the psalm, God is imaged as a warrior who goes out and defeats the enemy on behalf of His people. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is pictured as the one who defeats Satan at the cross for believers (Colossians 2:13-15).

Our Lord and Savior has gone before us as our conquering hero. Let us lift up our praises and tell of His goodness!

He Led a Host of Captives

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 68:7–18 (ESV)

⁷ O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. ⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; ¹⁰ your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. ¹¹ The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host: ¹² “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil— ¹³ though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold. ¹⁴ When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon. ¹⁵ O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! ¹⁶ Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the Lord will dwell forever? ¹⁷ The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. ¹⁸ You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

Understanding and Applying the Word

As we read these verses, we read a retelling of the exodus when God brought the Israelites out of servitude in Egypt and into the Promised Land where the people became a nation. The passage proclaims that it was God, and God alone, who was responsible for the great victory. The Lord is the victorious King who led a host of captives in His train.

In Scripture, the exodus is often used as a picture to the greater deliverance that God would bring to mankind by delivering them from captivity to sin. God accomplished this deliverance through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ followed by the resurrection. The Letter to the Ephesians quotes Psalm 68 when it states the following:

“When he [Jesus] ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (Ephesians 4:8)

The imagery here is clear. Jesus is seen as the conquering King who leads His people out of bondage to sin. This is the message of all of Scripture. We are sinners and God, by His grace, has made it possible for our sin to be dealt with so that we might have eternal life. We cannot do it on our own, but our King does all of the conquering for us. It is ours to simply trust in Him.

Come and Hear

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 66:13–16 (ESV)

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, ¹⁴ that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. ¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

Understanding and Applying the Word

In these verses, the psalmist promises to publicly worship and praise God for all that He has done. He will tell others of what God has done for him.

Worship is always a response. It is a response to our understanding of who God is and our knowledge of what He has done. As such, our worship is a witness and testimony to others of what God has done. We worship and we tell others why we worship, We proclaim God’s praises because He is worthy of praise and then we tell others why He is worthy. And our worship is centered on the salvation we have in Jesus Christ, who died in order to give us life.

Let us worship the Lord for all He has done and let us tell the world of His greatness!

Give to Him Glorious Praise

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Tim Farley

Reading the Word

Psalm 66:1–5 (ESV)

¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth; ² sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! ³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. ⁴ All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah⁵ Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

Understanding and Applying the Word

Psalm 66 calls for all people to praise God for who He is and for what He has done. His name is glorious and He has displayed His great power for all to see. In the context of this psalm, God displayed His power when He brought the people out of Egypt and led them across the sea on dry ground (Psalm 66:6). He then delivered the people into the Promised Land that was overflowing with abundance (Psalm 66:12).

We too are called to marvel at who God is and to praise His wondrous deeds. We can give praise and thanks for His daily provision in our lives, for how He has brought us through specific trials, or for the promises that He has made to us for the future. These are all great things. But let us not forget our great deliverance. Psalm 66 looks back to the deliverance of the people from bondage in Egypt. We must continually look back to the cross and our deliverance from bondage to sin. Christ died to set us free and to deliver us into eternal life in a new heaven and new earth. Let us praise the name of our great God and remember His awesome deeds!

The God of Harvest

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Tim Farley

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Reading the Word

Psalm 65:9–13 (ESV)

⁹ You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. ¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. ¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. ¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, ¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Understanding and Applying the Word

As we read these verses we get a picture of God’s generosity. We read of how God waters the earth to provide for an abundant grain harvest and so that the fields yield the growth necessary to provide for the flocks that graze in them. God is pictured as the generous provider.

Verses 9-13 can be taken alone to show how God provides for our daily needs, but there is something greater to be found in these verses. In the opening of Psalm 65, we read of how God has provided for our spiritual needs by making atonement for our sins. Now, at the end of this psalm, we see an concrete example of how God provides for our physical needs. He is the God who meets our every need and we are reminded every time we sit down to eat. Let us remember to give thanks to him for His provision, especially His provision of our Savior.

Shaped by the Word

A Bible Reading Devotional

Tag Archives: Jesus

Filled with His Glory

From Sea to Sea

The King of Justice

You Know My Reproach

For Your Sake

Praise the Conquering King

He Led a Host of Captives

Come and Hear

Give to Him Glorious Praise

The God of Harvest

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