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A REFINING FOR PRAISE

Sunday, 9 June 2019

Psalms 66

You made men [charioteers] ride over our heads [in defeat]; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a [broad] place of abundance [to be refreshed]. -Psalm 66:12

The Psalmist commences by calling on all the earth to glorify His name by extolling the glorious works of God the Creator and ends with what this great and Mighty God had done for him, just a speck of dust in the vastness of the universe.  This psalm showcases how mindful our God is towards us, His wonderfully and fearfully created work. Psa.66:5 invites us to see His mighty dealings with men.


Psa.66:6-9 speak about His protection while He sets to work in our lives. Psa.66:10-12 speak about how He refines us.

 


Repentance

Psa.66:12 explains all that they passed through was to bring them to a place of abundance.   For us today the place of abundance is in Christ (John 10:10). So He refines us to bring in repentance in us so that times of refreshing could come in His presence. “So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day]. Acts 3:19 (Amplified Bible)


So let us not be surprised at the trials that comes our way for it is to bring us to that broad place of abundance as given in the key verse above and explained in James 1:2-4 “Consider It all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

 


Sacrifice 

All the above led to praise rising up from within the Psalmist and culminated in him wanting to offer a sacrifice to God in fulfillment of the vow he had made when in distress (Psa.66:15).  How much more should we offer Him sacrifices for the awesome work of the cross which bought us redemption, justification and continuous sanctification through His precious blood.   In return for what He did for us all that is asked from us is the offering of ourselves as given in Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

 


Sweet Smelling Aroma 

The Psalmist in Psa.66:15 wants the burnt offerings of the fat lambs to be offered along with the sweet smoke of rams.  Likewise let us also be a living sacrifice whose aroma is the sweet fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15) For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

 


Witnessing

When the above process is complete the Psalmist in Psa.66:16 wants to tell everyone about what God had done for Him.  We also likewise should tell everyone what God did for you and me by sending His one and only Son as a propitiation for our sins so that none will perish but live eternally with Him.  How can all know about this great sacrifice unless we who have received his grace speak about it to those who are not aware of it.  Romans 10:14 "…And how can they trust in someone if they haven’t heard about Him? And how can they hear about someone if no one is proclaiming Him?" So let us never forget that Jesus Himself asked us to tell everyone what He did on the cross just before he ascended to heaven. Remember the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

 


A Call  :

“Come and hear, all you who fear God,

And I will declare what He has done

for my soul.”

-Psalm 66:16

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