Sunday Scripture

 

Graphic from Scripture Images

 Yes, it's time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Psalm 72:12-18. 

S= "For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
"He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
"He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight.
"And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for Him continually, and daily shall He be praised.
"There shall be an handful of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.
"His name shall endure forever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed ih Him.  All nations shall call Him blessed.
"Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things."  (Psalm 72:12-18)

O= My Bible titles Psalm 72 "A Psalm for Solomon".

C.I. Scofield gives it this additional title: "Messiah's glorious kingdom".

Scofield adds this note: "The 72nd Psalm forms a complete vision of Messiah's kingdom insofar as the OT revelation extended.  David's prayers will find their fruition in the Kingdom (v.20, which says, 'The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.') Verse 1 refers to the investiture of the king's son with the kingdom ... Verses 2, 7, 12-14 give the character of the kingdom.  The emphatic word is 'righteousness'."

Cross-references for "redeem" (v.14) -- "For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth."  (Psalm 74:12)

"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto those who turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD."  (Isaiah 59:20)  

Scofield says, "The time when 'the Redeemer shall come to Zion' is fixed, relatively, by Romans 11:23-29 following the completion of the church."  

Cross-reference for "Sheba" (v. 15) -- "The multitude of camels shall cover thee; the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; they all from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD."  (Isaiah 60:6)

Cross-reference comparison for "and they of the city shall flourish" (v.16) -- "Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry."  (1 Kings 4:20)

"Shall endure" (v.17) literally means "shall be."

Cross-reference for "endure" (v.17) -- "His seed shall endure forever, and His throne as the sun before me."  (Psalm 89:36)

Cross-reference for "in Him" (v.17) -- "And I will bless them that bless thee; and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."  (Genesis 12:3)  

Scofield notes that the above is "the great evangelistic promise fulfilled in Abraham's seed, Christ, and in all the spiritual seed of Abraham who, like Abraham, are justified by faith.  The Abrahamic covenant reveals the sovereign purpose of God to fulfill through Abraham His program for Israel, and to provide in Christ the Savior for all who believe."

Cross-references for "Him" (v.17) -- "But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD."  (Numbers 14:21)

"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."  (Habakkuk 2:14)

A= For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"In a world still saturated by trouble, God still does wondrous things." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course fits with verse 18, which exults: "Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things."  Our world is surely saturated by trouble, even more so now than when this study was written, but God does only wondrous things.  What a wonderful reminder!

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "glimpse". 

 

Yes, our world indeed seems saturated by trouble.  Yet even in the midst of trouble,  even with all of the strident voices trying to convince us that lies are true, we see glimpses of God and the incredible things only He is able to do.  A friend of mine wrote: "Every time I start to get anxious, God shows that he’s in control!"  I have absolutely found this to be the case. 

The question was asked: Which of my own words have blocked the beauty of God's Word?

My response in 2018: I try not to do this, but at times I lose sight of the fact that God is still doing amazing things.  May I not ever forget that God, and God alone, does wondrous things!

Answering this same question in 2024:  Any words of unbelief or doubt.  Any words that question the indisputable fact of God being sovereign over all things.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the music I hear; the people I encounter;  the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the music I hear,  I had the blessing of hearing a loon on the lake near our cottage, and the haunting cry of Canada geese passing overhead.

For the people I encounter, I recalled hosting our monthly Ladies of Grace meeting at our cottage recently.  Such sweet fellowship and testimonies!

A journaling prompt was this:  List one or more ideas to remind myself to intentionally look for God's beauty throughout the day.

My response in 2018: Walk outside on the porch.  Breathe deep and listen for birdsong.  Soak up any available sunshine.  Notice the beautiful color and form of foods and in everyday items.

For my response in 2024, I added: Pay attention to the glorious colors of late-summer flowers.  Listen for loons, Canada geese, and owls at our cottage.

P=

"Lord,  I pray that You will help me always to remember that You, and You alone, do wondrous things.  Your glorious, blessed name will endure forever.  We celebrate Your wondrous work in rising from the grave in victory over sin and death.  You still have that same mighty power and You are my Helper!  You are indisputably sovereign over all things and You will work wondrously in our lives and in our world.  I praise You for all of this in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.