#DailyDevotion Blessed To Be Chosen By God
Psalm 65 4Blessed is anyone You choose, everyone You bring to live in Your courts. We are satisfied with the blessings of Your house, and the holiness of Your temple.
The choosing here is God’s. It is always God’s. The LORD chose Abraham. The LORD chose Isaac. The LORD chose Jacob. He would choose the children of Israel. His choice wasn’t based on how good they were, or how faithful, nor did He choose them because they were such great people and large in number. He chose them to show the world His glory. It is the same in the New Testament. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1, God chose the foolish, the weak, the common people, and even chose those who were of no account. Again, this demonstrates God’s power, might, wisdom, mercy, kindness, and glory.
We are blessed to be chosen by God to live in His courts and to dwell in His temple. We are blessed even just to be pillars in the temple of the Almighty. We get satisfied with blessings of His house and His holiness through the hearing of His Word, the proclamation of the Gospel and the Sacrament of the Altar in which we received the true body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ and all of its blessings.
5O God, our Savior, in Your righteousness and with Your awesome deeds cause us to triumph!
The righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ and His awesome deeds of suffering for us, dying for us and overcoming death and the grave cause us to triumph. He credits us with His righteousness when we put our trust in Him. His works are our victory over sin, death and the power of the devil. Sin can no longer accuse us because its debt was paid on the cross. Death has no power over us because Christ’s resurrection will raise our mortal bodies from the grave to immortal bodies which never can die again. The devil has no power over us because Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit. We belong to Him now. He purchased us with His blood.
On You depend all the distant parts of the earth and the faraway places in the sea. 6You are girded with strength; You set up the mountains by Your power. 7You quiet the raging seas, their roaring waves, and the noisy tumult of the nations. 8People who live far away stand in awe of Your wonders. All the way from the rising of the sun to its setting there is a happy shout. 9You visit the earth and water it, making it fruitful with showers. You fill God’s rivers with water, and grow grain for them. For that You prepare the ground, 10water its furrows, soften its clods, dissolve it with showers, and bless what grows on it. 11You crown the year with Your bounty. From Your tracks the abundance drips, 12dripping on the meadows in the desert; the hills are wreathed with joy, 13pastures are clothed with flocks and valleys wrapped in grain. They shout to one another – yes, they sing.
In these verses we see the grace and mercy of God towards all the world. He has set up creation for all mankind. All who don’t even believe in Him or even that He exists stand in awe at all the wonders of God in all creation. He brings ends to wars which we make. He causes it to rain on the just and unjust, feeding all men everywhere with the fruits of the earth. He provides all people with the fruits of the earth and animals for food. He gives us all water to refresh us. They may not give God the proper thanks and praise, but they all shout to one another and sing because of the bounty of the earth the LORD provides. May we not forget where all this good comes from and point the world to the LORD their God who does all these things purely out of grace, mercy and kindness.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for the great salvation You have provided us in Christ Jesus, we who in no way deserve it. We likewise acknowledge and thank You for the abundance of the earth which you provide for us and all people to live on. Open our lips that we shout and sing Your praise through Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen.