Friday: Further Thought – ‘In the Psalms: Part 2’
Daily Lesson for Friday 30th of May 2025
Further Thought: Read Psalms 133:1-3, Acts 1:4-9, and Revelation 5:4-7.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“During the patriarchal age the influence of the Holy Spirit had often been revealed in a marked manner, but never in its fullness. Now, in obedience to the word of the Saviour, the disciples offered their supplications for this gift, and in heaven Christ added His intercession. He claimed the gift of the Spirit, that He might pour it upon His people.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 37.
The disciples were instructed to bear witness to Christ “ ‘to the end of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:8, NKJV), a work that would herald the return of Christ (Matthew 24:14). We are to continue what they started.
When Christ told us to carry the gospel to the world, He did not leave us alone to figure out how it might happen. The work is directed from heaven’s sanctuary. Our work is intimately wrapped up in Christ: He guides and empowers us. This is His work, not ours: we are asked to follow His lead. You will notice this is how it worked with Israel: God asked them to follow His instructions, and then He made the impossible happen. The Spirit is already at work in the hearts of our neighbors; we are asked to be there when the moment of decision arrives so that we can invite them to join God’s people as they stand with the Lamb on Zion. We do not have to invent new means and methods because we have never been in charge of the work.
Discussion Questions
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I have to admit that I have found the "In the Psalms" bit rather elusive this week. Maybe it is just me, but I am not really sure in today's lesson what the link between Ps 133 and the rest of today's lesson is.
Here is the Psalm:
It is only a little Psalm and it talks about unity. It uses two allusions:
Unity is a precious commodity, and in today's society has been ambushed by competitiveness. We see it in sport, business, politics and, unfortunately, churches. We are encouraged to think in terms of winners and losers and often in this mele we lose sight of the value and importance of unity.
But why the symbolism of annointing oil and dew?
I have no idea what annointing oil smelled like but I am sure that it would have been a perfume that was pleasant. Most of us are aware that perfumes can have a subtle influence on our emotions. Some of us even make an effort to smell "nice" in company. A good perfume provides an atmosphere of enjoyment.
Dew is refreshing. I am often out early in the morning photographing birds, and I love to watch the Peewees feeding when the grass is sparkling like diamonds in the early morning sun.
Both these poetic metaphors have a sense of well-being about them and reinforce the idea that unity is good for us. It is also a reminder that being in Christ is not just a one-to-one relationship with him but a many-to-many relationship with one another. I have said it so many times:
... it almost sounds like a mantra. But if we don't get this bit right, our effort to spread the Gospel is going nowhere.