Doxology and Benediction

Berean Baptist on June 11, 2018

Psalm 134

Psalm 134 is both a doxology and a benediction concerning the priests and Levites who served the Lord at the temple. The first two verses of the psalm are spoken by the people as encouragement for their intercessory leaders as they labor on the behalf of God’s chosen people. In this psalm, worshipers recognize that God is to be praised for all the gracious benefits He richly bestows. I especially like this part of the psalm because I like the way the people held their leaders to a standard. They desired for the Lord to be magnified and would accept nothing less or expect nothing less from their leaders than uncompromising devotion.

I like this part because there is nothing that warms the heart of a godly pastor than to know the people appreciate the word of God declared plainly, without mixture, without compromise—without restraint even though it can be painfully convicting. Psalm 120-134 are known as Pilgrim Psalms. You will notice as you read through them there is continual recognition of God’s power and His providence. The people recognize where they stand in relation to Him. They are fully dependent which always puts them at God’s mercy where they should be.

I believe these are people that had no problems with instruction on man’s depravity. They had no problems with God’s sovereignty. They were not resistant to teachings that God’s will is not dependent on the whims of fallen, fallible man. A pastor loves to preach when there are no subjects like these that make the church uncomfortable. He does not answer to the people for acceptance of his sermons. His allegiance is to God alone and he fears to leave out anything God says to His people. The priests did not fear to teach the whole counsel of God, for it appears the people demanded it of them.

The last verse of the psalm speaks of the power of God. Why should praises be lifted to the Lord in the sanctuary? It is because He is Lord that made heaven and earth. This is the priests’ benediction upon the people. It is the last words they spoke in this grouping of psalms for pilgrims.

The priests pronounced a blessing on them in the name of the Lord. His omnipotence grants to them all spiritual blessings in Christ. The blessings come from Zion which means they originate where God dwells in His holy temple. Although the church is not Old Testament, I believe an application can be made that all blessings for the world come through the work the Lord does through His church. The church is the authorized place for His work. This work is given to no others for Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

The Lord dwells in the church as the temple of His praise. The people themselves are His temple. The Holy Spirit lives in each of us. Corporately we do His work, but individually we are responsible for its holiness so that all work will have God’s approval on it. We are reminded of this holiness in our study of the New Jerusalem, the home of the bride of Christ. The church is His bride, and He intends for it to be spotless, holy, and without blame (Eph. 5:26-27).

These three verses show pastor and people working together with the same sense of duty. This is what church is—a place for the glory of God and for thankfulness and appreciation that the mighty omnipotent God should consider lowly creatures for His service. “What is man, that thou are mindful of him? (Psalm 8:4a).

This benediction and word of thanks comes from the Pastor. Thank you for standing on and appreciating the word of God. Blessings on you from the Lord that made heaven and earth.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Thankfulness

Berean Baptist on June 26, 2017

Psalm 92:1

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.” On the day I wrote this article, I was pleasantly surprised to open my Bible to read this verse in Psalm 92. I had just finished working on a sermon for the Living for Jesus series in which the subject of thankfulness was one of the major themes. This gave me the opportunity to write on the subject and give insight to those who might not hear the sermon.

My angle on thankfulness comes from the topic of prayer. One of the essentials of prayer is that we show God an attitude of gratitude. Christians are people that love to do things for others because helping others is part of the new spiritual life given to us in Christ. He was always giving to others, especially for the needs of poor lost sinners who can find salvation only in Him. Even though we should give unselfishly as He gave whether or not others compliment us or give thanks, still there is definitely a warm feeling when we know others appreciate our efforts. It makes it much easier to follow through the next time there is a need when we know those we help sincerely value it. Most of us would be at least a little reluctant to give again if those we help constantly take from us without acknowledging what we do.

This is a very simple principle, and yet there are many Christians that never pause to offer God thanks for the many benefits received. They constantly go to the well of God’s grace with hand outstretched and grab from Him without showing the gratitude He deserves. There is a point, I believe, when God stops giving because of ingratitude. Many things can hinder prayer and surely this is one. You see, we are commanded to give thanks, and if we treat God despitefully by acting as if we deserve what He gives, it is sin. Sin always hinders prayer. Sin is the fuel of ingratitude. As we read this psalm, it is hard to imagine the author was not wholly in tune with God which caused him to do the natural thing for Christians—to thank God for His lovingkindness and faithfulness.

One more point I would like to make. The inscription of the psalm is, “A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath Day.” The Sabbath was the Old Testament day of worship. Everything stopped—all secular activity stopped on the Sabbath so everyone could concentrate their thoughts on God. The cessation of worldly pursuits leaves the mind open to contemplate God’s wonderful works. This is the reason Christians should make it a point to go to church and worship. We need the time to get away from everything else we think about to consider God. What can we think about God other than how He so graciously gave us salvation through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? Will this not lead you to thankfulness and praise?

Self-absorption is no recipe for caring about what God thinks. Let’s take the time to reflect on His blessings and give Him the thanks He so richly deserves. You will feel good for it because you know it pleases Him.

Pastor V. Mark Smith