You Are Not the Only One

1 (A Psalm of Asaph.) The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

In the Hebrew “Mighty God” “אלוהים אדירים” or “el” Elohim reads El, Elohim, Jehovah. Could the use of these names for God used with a singular verb in some way be saying the same thing as is mentioned in 1 John?

1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Only one perfect being has come out of Zion. That person was Jesus Christ Our Lord. NO human being can claim perfection. The book of Revelation chronicles that Jesus resides in all churches who profess that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and Savior of this world. As such, the church shines like a lighthouse beacon into the darkness of this world.  Every time the word of God is shared with this sin-sick world light emanates to all who hear, see, or read it. 

He is the perfection of beauty. 

• Ps. 48:2 “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
• Lam. 2:15 “All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?”

3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

When our God returns to this earth the world will be terrified. So much so that it will attempt to “fight” with God. His appearance signals a time of judgment for all people. He is preceded by a storm and consuming fire. See Dt. 4:24; 9:3; Isa. 66:16; Heb. 12:29 (The Message). Scripture compares his judgment to a consuming fire. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17  submits a scenario that describes the return of The Lord. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and still here on this earth].. shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

We have a lot to look forward to. We must remain focused on the big picture which is God’s Kingdom Mission. Put aside all of the plethoras that the devil is throwing at the church to place its focus on anything BUT GOD and the gospel.

When a farmer wants to produce something with his land first, he plows the field. Then he scatters the good seed on the ground. Then it feeds the grain with the minerals from the soil, but without water and sunlight, the seed WILL NOT germinate. So it is with us and the dissemination of the gospel. God wants the church to produce fruit. He sent His Son as the Farmer. He prepared his people for the message of the good news. But the soil was not fertile. So, He added the fertilizer/minerals of the blood of Jesus Christ, and the booster of the Holy Spirit. Then he sent workers out into the field with the seeds of His holy word. That would be the writing of the NT Canon.

Hebrews 12:29 pronounced that  “For our God [is – present tense] a consuming fire.”

4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

Cayce provided us with some historical information that clarifies this verse for us.

“The Targum interprets this of the angels above on high, and of the righteous on the earth below. And so Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, explain it of the angels of heaven, and of the inhabitants of the earth” (Cayce 2018, Psalm 50:4).

“That he may judge his people” Note that neither the “heavens and the earth’ nor the inhabitants of either the heavens nor the earth”  judge God’s people. When God corrects His children, He does so in love.

When he vindicates them and avenges them on their enemies, and when he protects and saves them. Peter speaks about how God judges “his own family.”  1 Peter 4:17-19 “It’s judgment time for God’s own family. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message! If good people barely make it, What’s in store for the bad? So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.”

There is only one judge of all in heaven and earth, and that is Jesus Christ. See Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

There are times when I look at things that are posted in social media and I just sit at the computer and shake my head. I cannot believe that we could be so comdemning towards others. I don’t worry about what the ungodly state in social media. However, I am shocked at the name calling and finger pointing that I see in social media from people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Lat night was one of those instances. There was a very negative and inflammatory post about Ms. Obama’s book. The putrid names that folks used in their address of Ms. Obama shocked my socks off. I had to unfollow several people. I just did not want that toxicity to enter into my mind. God knows her heart. How dare we condemn anyone? However, people can condemn themselves by their usage of words.  We will be held accountable for the words that we type and speak to others.  It appears that we forgot this Scripture.

Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. 1 Peter 2:15-16 MSG

5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

 When I read this verse about “gathering my saints,” I visualize a mother hen gathering her chicks. Scripture talks about “the angel using the sickle” to reap the harvest.

Harvest Time
Revelation 14:15-16 “I looked up, I caught my breath!—a white cloud and one like the Son of Man sitting on it. He wore a gold crown and held a sharp sickle. Another Angel came out of the Temple, shouting to the Cloud-Enthroned, “Swing your sickle and reap. It’s harvest time. Earth’s harvest is ripe for reaping.” The Cloud-Enthroned gave a mighty sweep of his sickle, began harvesting earth in a stroke.” Christians today do not need to be concerned about  making “a covenant with [Him] by sacrifice.” Why? Christ is our living Passover sacrifice! Thank you, Jesus!

6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

The inhabitants of heaven inhabitants will testify of the “justice of God.”  of the sentence or will approve the sentence. Verse 4 “He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.” Selah  means “pause and think on these things.”