Daily Devotional Thought for Tuesday (7/21/09)-From the Psalms

The Treasury of Daily Prayer assigned Psalm 106:1-5 for today:

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!  ² Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?  ³ Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!  ⁴ Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them,  ⁵ that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.

 

Verse one is on our lips each time we celebrate The Lord’s Supper.  Having received the body and blood of our Lord, we shout forth with praise and thanksgiving the words of the psalmist.  But what is the cause for such a reaction?  The steadfast love of the Lord—for you!

 

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?  Surely not those who are dead in their trespasses (Eph 2; Col. 2).  Not anyone who is an enemy of God (Rom. 5:10).  A person conceived in sin (Psalm 51), and living in darkness (Eph. 5:8) is not capable of such a faithful response.  Such a person is left to carry the burden of his or her sin and the judgment it brings.

 

But in that heavenly meal, in The Lord’s Supper, we have received the one who observed justice, and did righteousness all the time (verse 3).  In the Sacrament of the Altar, He who fulfills all righteousness is given into the mouths of those who were once dead.   In Holy Communion Christ’s living body and blood makes enemies into brothers and sisters, raises the dead to life, calls those conceived in sin and living in darkness into the light of the Gospel.  And through this, the Holy Spirit produces the faith that trusts that all of this is true!  That, my friends, is something to give thanks and praise for.

 

Indeed, we give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures forever!  Our sins are not held against us.  Our trespasses are forgiven.  Where sinners acknowledge their sins, and receive the one in whom there is forgiveness of sins—Jesus Christ—there, and there alone, is seen the prosperity of God’s people.  It’s a prosperity that remains hidden in bread and wine and involves a cross and an empty tomb.  It’s the prosperity that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, in whom we have our eternal inheritance.

 

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord?  Those who have received the Lord and all the benefits He brings!