BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ALWAYS DO WHAT IS RIGHT

Proclamation:

“Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.  Remember me, Lord, when You show favor to Your people, come to my aid when You save them, that I may enjoy the prosperity of Your chosen ones …”  Psalm 106:3-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The same inspired words that begin Psalm 106:1, also appear in 1 Chronicles 16:34.  David knew that those believers who keep God’s word and did the right thing would be blessed.  However, he asked The Lord to remember him when He showed favor to His people, and when He saved them.   David wanted to enjoy the prosperity and joy with God’s chosen people, and he wanted to join them in giving God praise.  He also knew that they frequently disobeyed and provoked God, and he recounts some of their misgivings in this psalm along with God’s demonstration of His goodness towards them. (Psalm 106:7-46)

Application:

It is one thing to believe The Word of God, however, not all of us who believe it actually follow it and obey it in our daily walk, actions, and conversations.  We do the right thing, hopefully more often than not, but we don’t do it continually.  It is not good enough to praise The Lord God with the words of our mouth, our whole heart must agree with Him.  We must walk the walk and not just talk the talk. (1 John 1:7)  For our momentary, occasional or repeated lapses back into sinful behavior or speech, we need to ask for God’s forgiveness and His help. (1 John 1:9)  If we want to enjoy God’s favor, we must keep His commands.

A SECOND REASON FOR SINGING JOY TO THE WORLD

Proclamation:

“Sing to The Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things … The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.”  Psalm 98:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm is thought to have been written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God as a prophecy of the coming Messiah.  He presents the celebration of His second arrival (Psalm 98:4-8) and the purpose of His coming, which is to judge the people of the world. (Psalm 98:9)

Application:

The second coming of Christ gives us a second reason to sing the song, “Joy To The World.”  When The Lord comes we will enjoy new benefits, new blessings, and a new complete salvation, and therefore we will sing a new song unto The Lord.   Everyone in heaven will not sing the same song because everyone will not go through the same thing to get there.  The angels will not sing the same songs that the tribulation saints will sing. (Revelation 7:9-14)  The Lord has made His salvation known through the gospel, and through the ministers who preach it.  However, it is The Holy Spirit of God convicts, convinces, and converts the hearts of those who hear The Word of God.  Salvation is available to all, but only those who believe will be saved. (John 3:16 and Romans 10:9)

JOY COMES TO THOSE WHO WALK IN THE LIGHT

Proclamation:

“Let those who love The Lord hate evil … Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.  Rejoice in The Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.”  Psalm 97:10-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are thought to have been written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  It presents the same subject and argument as the preceding psalm, the coming of the kingdom of Christ.  This psalm provides descriptive imagery regarding the coming of The Lord.  It ends with a focus of the light of The Lord shining on the righteous.

Application:

Those of us who love The Lord cannot also love the things which The Lord hates.  We cannot serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24)  Believers love The Lord and must walk in the light and let His light shine through us for the world to see. (John 8:12, Matthew 5:16, and 1 John 1:7)  He will show us the way, guide our feet and a light unto our pathway, if we follow His word. (Psalm 119:105)  Blessings are in store for those of us who are upright in heart.  So, let us rejoice in The Lord and praise His holy and righteous name.  He is coming back.

ENJOY THE JOY OF THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD

Proclamation:

"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.  You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand."  Psalms 16:9-11 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  After beginning this psalm with a one line prayer, David goes on to recount how The Lord has blessed him, and then he restates his commitment to The Lord.  Then he states how glad he is that The Lord has kept him, shown him the right path to take, and filled him with joy.

Application:
We can learn a lot from David.  The first thing that we should learn is that a prayer does not have to be lengthy in order to be effective. (Psalms 16:1)  Maybe if we prayed more often, then our prayers would not have to be so long.  The second thing we can learn is to praise The Lord more often for the good things that He has done for us and for others. (Psalms 16:2-3)  We need to be grateful for what we have already been blessed to receive. (Psalms 16:5-6)  Then we need to listen to, and obey the counsel and instruction of The Lord, and we should always keep The Word of God before us. (Psalms 16:7-8)  God has blessed us, and we should be glad. (Psalms 16:9)  He has shown us the right path to take, and His Word is the light unto the right pathway. (Psalms 16:11 and Psalms 119:105)  The joy that He has given to us, cannot be taken from us. (John 17:13)  He is always with us, and in His presence there is complete joy. (Psalms 16:11)  There is no greater joy than the joy we experience in the presence of The Lord.

Well Done Good And Faithful Servant

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share Your master's happiness!' "  Matthew 25:23 (NIV)

The Apostle Matthew recorded these words of Jesus, The Christ, as He was describing to His disciples what heaven would be like.  After giving an example likening the kingdom of heaven to the ten virgins, Jesus gave a second example likening the kingdom of heaven to the three servants, who were given a different number of talents by their master based upon their different abilities.  Afterwards, the three servants had to give and account of their stewardship.  This verse is the judgment received by the second servant, which is a repeat of the judgment of the first servant. (Matthew 25:21)  Being faithful and doing a good job with what we are given will please The Lord, and He will reward those who are faithful over the little that they were given.  

Today, we must be aware of the fact that there will come a day when each of us must give an account to The Lord for all that we thought, said, and did; and for all that we did with that which had been entrusted to us. (Matthew 12:36, Luke 16:2, and Romans 14:12)  As believers, we are saved and our sins have been forgiven.  We will be judged on our kingdom building efforts.  (Revelation 11:18 and Revelation 20:12-13)  We will be judged on our works, on what we did to give glory to The Lord.  Anything that we did which did not give Him glory, will be consumed by the fire which we must pass through. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)  For our good works, we shall receive a reward.  Some of us will receive one or more crowns. (2 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Peter 5:4)  There are mansions prepared for us. (John 14:2)  However, all rewards aside, on judgment day, first and foremost we want to hear The Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant ... enter into the joy of The Lord."