Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


7.13.2007  

Word: Psalm 132

vv. 6 - 9
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the field of Jaar. Let us go into His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool. Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your godly ones sing for joy.

When I read these verses, I thought of one thing: Revelation 19, where the bride of Christ is presented to her bridegroom wearing "fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Here in this psalm, the priests are clothed with righteousness; yet, what we see in Revelation and, indeed, the rest of Scripture, is that the priesthood is not limited to the Levites alone. Peter declares us to be "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession." When he does so, he's drawing upon dozens of references throughout the Old Testament Scriptures that, given their immediate contexts, had almost nothing to do with us. Yet, in Christ, we come to see that those references have far, far, far greater implications than any man could have possibly realized.

What does all of this really mean? Ryan once said that in preparing a sermon for his congregation each Sunday, he has to think of what "simple truths" he can bring before us so that our souls might be fed. A man might have a palate whereby his tongue can discern the finer intricacies of a red wine's bouquet, yet he must, when all is said and done, consume more than wine; indeed, he must have simple bread!

So I ask again, what does all of this really mean? Well, as I said, I was immediately taken to Revelation 19 when first reading this psalm. There we find ourselves with John as he envisions the marriage supper of the Lamb, that glorious event where all the saved saints of God, who collectively are the bride of Christ, are presented to her Bridegroom, the Lamb of God. It is a presentation where we are shown to be clean, pure, and righteous! What saint, struggling with sin, longing to be free of the real yet deceptive burdens of this world, does not long for this day? What saint, a sinner saved by grace, a sinner whose sins were washed white as snow by the shed blood of the precious Lamb of God, cannot help but ache to see the Savior in all His glory, nevermore to grieve His Spirit, forevermore to praise Him unashamedly? Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your godly ones sing for joy.

posted by Bolo | 12:06 AM
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