He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!” vss. 19-20
Psalm 147:12-20
The psalmist believed that Israel was uniquely privileged among all the nations of the world. They were the only nation to whom God had revealed the statutes and ordinances which had given them definition. Of all the peoples on the face of the earth they were the ones who God had chosen; and it was an exclusive claim! No one else was included and out of that position of privilege the psalmist says, “Praise the Lord!” While we are familiar with this claim, it has come to sound quite out of place in our contemporary, multicultural world. It certainly doesn’t fit with what Jesus came preaching and proclaiming, and bears no resemblance at all to what we have come to know as the “Peaceable Kingdom.” And even though Christian Nationalism has been gaining adherents at a rapid pace in our country, people of faith know that its basic claims are antithetical to the gospel! No matter what religious people might teach and believe, the Divine Presence transcends national boundaries. Every folk and nation is included under the umbrella of God’s grace and love, and there’s no better way to start the new year than to reaffirm our allegiance to that one Lord and Savior of us all.
Thought for the Day: What’s my number one New Years resolution?
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