#DailyDevotion Singing The Praise Of The Name Of Jesus
Psalm 68 God arises — His enemies scatter, and those who hate Him run away from Him. 2Like smoke that is blown, You blow them away. Like wax melted by a fire, the wicked perish before God.
This psalm recounts the saving acts of the LORD for the Israelites particularly from Egypt to Sinai and from Sinai to the Promised Land. God arose to deliver the Israelites at the Red Sea. The Egyptians tried to scatter but the LORD covered them with the waters. He brought them into the wilderness and the nations that came before the Israelites to destroy them, He scattered them like smoke that was blown away. The wicked are all those who do not trust in the LORD. They may have other sinful actions but those are merely the fruit of their unbelief. The wicked indeed will perish before the LORD.
The book of Revelation pictures this towards the end of its cycles of visions. The LORD descends in judgment. The wicked flee and try to hide. They will all perish before the LORD Jesus Christ. This is what we must remember when it seems the wicked rules the day. Their time is short. They will not reign forever. Jesus’ kingdom will overcome the kingdom of darkness when He returns.
3But the righteous are glad, rejoicing before God and overflowing with joy. 4Sing to God, sing to praise His name! Make a highway for Him to drive through the deserts! His name is the LORD. Be very happy before Him.
Who are the righteous but those who trust in the name of the LORD our God? The righteous were those Israelites who believed God’s promise to give them the land and to fight for them. We too are the righteous when we believe in the name of the LORD Jesus Christ. We are glad and rejoice before God and we are overflowing with joy because of the victory over sin and death Jesus has won for us. We are called to praise the name of God. His name is Yah! There is some debate whether Yah is a contraction of Yahweh or if it is a completely different name. Its first appearance is in the song of Moses. There are numerous places, particularly in the Psalms where this name is used. It is the beginning and ending of many Hebrew names. It is the beginning of Jesus’ name-Ya saves. Jesus’ name is above all other names. To it all creation will submit itself.
The phrase, “Make a highway for Him to drive through the deserts,” hearkens us to the call of John the Baptist, calling us to make way a highway for our God. That God is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. How do we do this? We do it with contrition, repentance and faith. We acknowledge our sin and our unfaithfulness. We turn to God for forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and life. We trust God gives us these things for the sake of Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son. Having received a clear conscience before God through Holy Baptism, having placed our feet now upon the way of the LORD, we now live a new life according to God’s will. If we have a clear conscience before the Father of lights, then we indeed can be very happy before Him. We do not walk in fear of His wrath, judgment and anger. We walk before Him as His dear children, His holy people. We praise Him for His glory, the salvation of all mankind and especially those who put their trust in Him.
Let us not live in drudgery as if the will of God is a burden to us. It cannot accuse us anymore if we are in Christ. Let us rejoice in that He has given us His Spirit that we may will and do the works of God, rejoicing in that this is the life which is best for us and provides us with all good things. We can now recognize the goodness of the LORD in His revealed will to us and delight in it.
Heavenly Father, give us Your Holy Spirit that we may rejoice in the name of You Son, Jesus Christ, through contrition, repentance and faith, making a highway for Him in our hearts, that we may all the more rejoice in Your merciful goodness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.