Yesterday we were reminded of the fact that God is our Redeemer, and that we should praise and thank Him more emphatically in regard to the spiritual gifts of our salvation.
This truth is expressed again in Psalm 126:1-3, where the psalmist writes, "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord bath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.''
Although this captivity was physical, when the Israelites were taken into Babylon, the return, of which the Psalm speaks, was a type and shadow of our deliverance from the captivity and bondage of Satan. It was a picture of our redemption through the cross of Christ. And although the church's deliverance from the bondage of Satan does not in this life bring us all the joy that it should and calls for, we will in the day of Christ, when our bodies and souls together are freed from all sin and the curse, sing of this blessedness in these words:
When Zion in her low estate
Was brought from bondage by the Lord,
In ecstasy we sang for joy,
By grace and wondrous love restored.
The Lord in greatly blessing us
Before the world His power displays:
Yea, great things God has done for us
And filled our hearts with joy and praise.
That laughter, and that singing, give evidence that we have the beginning of that deliverance from Satan's bondage. And then, indeed, the Lord has done great things for us. Let your mind dwell on that spiritual deliverance today. The Captain of our salvation has wrought a wonderful victory for us. Let your mouth be filled with laughter that will not cease, but will in the new Jerusalem increase and never end.
Read: Psalm 126
Psalter versification: 357:1, 2
Devotions on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 53
Sing along!!
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Exodus 32 ; Exodus 33:1-23
Matthew 26:69-72 ; Matthew 27:1-14
Psalm 33:1-11
Proverbs 8:33-36
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Quote for Reflection:
“As the saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the church, so does discipline serve as its sinews, through which the members of the body hold together, each in its own place.” -- John Calvin
Additional Info
- Date: 11-February