LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 33:12, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

 

My wife has done a cross stitch that has this verse from the Psalms at its center.  Walking by it last night caught my attention for some reason. I like this verse because it gives great promise to a nation whose people declares God to be their God. Proverbs 14:34 declares, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Government and the leaders of government are an extension of the people they represent. Conservative leaders are elected by people who believe in those principles of thought; liberal leaders are elected by people who believe in that trend of thought. Those elected officials are then to represent the particular thoughts of those who elected them. I might add that when the nation follows the direction, God’s blessing results. When the nation does not follow God’s direction and is disobedient, natural consequences result.  

 

Throughout history nations have depended on military and even economic power to be their strength. However, the real power of a nation comes from their moral strength. Government always turns to the desires of the people. In our nation, the people place the leaders in their position and then seem to go along with whatever they do. When righteous people are in high positions, we have seen the nation be strong; wickedness in people of high positions cause the nation to be weak.  Do you see that in the verses mentioned? Do you see that in the history of our country? Refer to the people living during the time of the Judges. You remember that when the people of Israel did what was “right in their own eyes” God sent their enemies to subject them to their consequences. But, when they turned to Him, he delivered them. During the reign of the kings in Israel, when God was their true King, Israel prospered. They were “blessed” and were happy.

 

When David wrote this, Israel was surrounded by pagan nations; he wrote to say how fortunate the people of Israel were to have God as their Lord. They were blessed to have the Creator of the universe be their Lord; they were “His chosen people, His own inheritance”. The psalm is a call for the people to worship the One True God, express their reverence for Him and to come before Him in awe and wonder. Afterall, Israel was in a unique position in God’s plans and purposes.

 

As Christians, today, we also have a unique position in God’s plans. Not one of us can boast in our relationship to Him since our salvation is rooted only in His divine mercy. Our salvation is due to His son on a cross taking our rightful place for our sinfulness. As children of God, we are blessed to have been born into this dispensation of grace; we have been chosen as His inheritance and must identify ourselves as joint heirs of Christ.

 

I fear that this nation is moving in the same direction as so many nations of the world who are choosing to rebel against God. Is the blessing of God being withdrawn from this nation? Is the evil we are seeing grow in this nation a sign that this age is drawing near and a seven-year period of tribulation is approaching? Is this nation a nation who has God as their Lord? It seems that each of us has to come to an answer to these questions. Each of us must make the answers personal and decide about our walk on a narrow way.

 

I am so thankful for the personal relation we can have with the Creator of all things. Each day He makes our relationship with Him new as we read/study/meditate on His word and as we spend time in prayer giving Him thanksgiving for who He is and for His grace given to us. I fear His blessing are being taken from this nation because people are rebelling against Him. You and I must “stay ready by staying close to Him, so we do not have to get ready” (Dr. Ed Newton).