Saturday, October 8, 2016

Thoughts on Psalm 20:3

3 ​​May He remember all your offerings,
​​And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah

I had a pastor who said, “Confession is great for the soul, but terrible for the reputation.” Well, here it goes.

One of the reasons I procrastinate on things is because they are so important to me.

For example, I have a dozen or more Psalms that I have half-written. I love the music I’ve written so much that I struggle bringing myself to finish the song, because I’m afraid it won’t live up to what I’ve written so far.

I’ve drug my feet on writing this post for this very reason. It’s so precious, so sacred, that I’m almost afraid to touch it.

You see, I believe this verse is talking about what my Lord Jesus Christ did for me on the Cross.

I started to realize this because of the word “Selah”. I’ve always heard that this means to pause and reflect. So as I pondered this verse, I started to think about what Jesus said:

Then He [Jesus] said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45

So when we sing the Psalms, we should always have one eye on the lookout for Jesus.

And in this verse, I saw that in the New Testament, when God remembers our offerings and our burnt sacrifice, it’s not primarily about what we have offered or what we have sacrificed.

It’s what Jesus did for us, on our behalf.

But this Man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:12-14

And what was this one sacrifice, this one offering?

...how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9:14
It was His own life, which He gave for us on the Cross.

It was He who was and is our burnt offering - when He suffered the fiery indignation of God’s wrath on our behalf.

So, dear saint, no matter how devastating the Day of Trouble may be,
Regardless of how hopeless the situation may seem,
However catastrophic the crisis may appear…

We can always - always - come back to the one great Offering and the one great Sacrifice.

The most significant day in the history or future of the human race: when the Son of God died so we could live.

And the result of that one sacrifice?

“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
​​For as I have sworn
​​That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
​​So have I sworn
​​That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
​​For the mountains shall depart
​​And the hills be removed,
​​But My kindness shall not depart from you,
​​Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
​​Says the LORD, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:9-10

In other words, the Lord will flood the earth with water before He is angry with you.
He will cast every mountain and hill into the sea before He removes His kindness and His peace from you.

The issue is no longer whether God will remember the offering and burnt sacrifice - but rather will we remember?

Selah.


Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.