The Joy of Glory

Psalm 118:22-29 (click here)
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:22-24)

Reflection
“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

That is a verse I have heard quoted my entire life. It is a verse I have often quoted to myself. It is a general truth we remind ourselves of constantly by applying it equally to every day alike.

It’s not incorrect to do so. Each day of our life has been written by the Lord in his book even before we were born (Psalm 139:16). Yet, in Psalm 118 there is a very specific day being spoken of that calls for our rejoicing in what God has done.

It is a day upon which the rejected stone became the cornerstone.

This is a day crafted by God before time began. It is the center-point of history. It is the day when evil is turned upside down and death itself loses its grip as life conquers the grave.

It’s the day believers of old looked forward to, and the day upon which we now look back. It is a 24 hour period that has become the fountainhead of eternal rejoicing!

It is the day of the resurrection of the Son of God.

Jesus was rejected much like a builder would reject a stone as unfit for a building. Yet, through this very rejection, God made Christ the cornerstone of our faith! Through his crucifixion God brought about resurrection. Now, through faith in Christ alone comes salvation!

Oh how marvelous is this Gospel in our eyes!

This day of resurrection, this day of victory, this day when death died and life won forevermore through Christ alone…THIS IS THE DAY that the LORD has made… let us rejoice and be glad in it…FOREVER!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Psalm 121 (click here)
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:3-4)

Reflection
Sleep.

Sleep is an interesting thing. We all need it…and…whether we want to or not…we all must do it.

Why? Why did God create us this way? Why make us in such a way that our bodies require rest so frequently?

I may be wrong, but I think that part of the answer must be that sleep forces us into a position of recognizing that everything doesn’t depend on us. We sleep and the world spins on. We sleep and life keeps going.

We are not ultimate, and we are not ultimately in control.

Sleep puts us in a vulnerable position in which we must trust that things will be ok without us for a few hours. We must rest, trusting that things go on.

I think that sleep is designed, at least in part, to remind us that we are dependant creatures. We are sleepers who depend upon the one who needs no sleep. There is only one who never slumbers, one who is not dependant, one who is not vulnerable, one who IS ultimate! God…and it is he that keeps us!

The one who doesn’t slumber, keeps us so that we can.

Sleep is a daily reminder to trust the one who doesn’t sleep.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Psalm 89 (click here)
The Lord says:
I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him…

My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.

The Psalmist says:
But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?

Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen. (Psalm 89:20, 2-29, 38-39, 49, and 52)

Reflection
O how often does it seem that the Word of the Lord has failed!

We read the precious truths of Scripture and cling to them by our fingertips with all our strength, but the constant battering of life aims to make our grip slip.

The shouts of suffering mock the promises of God.

The pain of life pries hope from our hearts.

This is the pit of Psalm 89. God has made amazing promises to David. He had established an unbreakable covenant that his offspring would reign forever! But did God really mean that promise?

When the Psalmist compared picture painted by the Words of God with the reality that surrounded him, it seemed like the Davidic covenant was a long lost dream. David’s “crown” was defiled in the dust as his line quickly failed after his son Solomon.

The kingdom split in two. The Northern Kingdom of Israel would fall to Assyria. A little later the Southern Kingdom of Judah would fall to Babylon. Thus, the heart of Psalmist cries out…

“Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?”

I do not know a single believer who’s heart has not made a similar cry a some point in their life (unless they’re really young). We, like the Psalmist, read God’s promises and compare them with what we actually experience in the world, and the world makes it seem like his Word has been broken and worst and failed at best!

The Psalmist doesn’t doubt that God is still in control… he doesn’t think God’s Word has failed. No. He feels like God himself has broken his Word. God has purposefully not kept his promises. God has cast off his anointed. God has rejected David’s line. God has defiled the crown.

This is why we struggle. Because amidst pain and suffering we still believe God is in control and cannot possibly fathom how his promises are still true amidst our experience. It seems like he is breaking his Word…how can he be a good, trustworthy God if this is the case.

Yet, even as the Psalmist cries out with his questions…his final word is one of trust and hope…

“Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.”

No matter how things may look or feel, the Psalmist chooses to trust the Lord above his eyes and emotions…and we know that his hope is not misplaced.

God had not removed his steadfast love or faithfulness, nor had he broken his covenant. An offspring would come from David’s line who reigns now as king and will reign forevermore over the people of God… Jesus.

The Psalmist would never see this in his lifetime. It would be hundreds of years before the first advent of Christ and we still await his second and the kingdom coming in full.

Likewise, amidst all our pain and suffering in this life (which we’ve been told will come, John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:12) we may not see exactly how God’s Word has not been broken, but we look to his track-record and see his faithfulness shining through. He is a God that can be trusted and hoped in, even when it seems trust has been broken and hope has been lost.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.