We Have Been Redeemed

We Have Been Redeemed

JANUARY 4, 2024 Psalm 74:1-2 O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed. As we stated in the previous devotion, Asaph begins this psalm with questioning the strictness of God’s justice when […]

We Have Been Redeemed

Why Have You Cast Us Off?

JANUARY 3, 2024 Psalm 74:1-2 O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed. In the previous psalm, Asaph addressed the issue of suffering God’s people must endure  in contrast to the apparent […]

We Have Been Redeemed

Awaken From Spiritual Slumber

JANUARY 1, 2025 Psalm 73:21-24 I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel. Most of us can identify with what is stated above. When we allow the things of this world to conjure […]

We Have Been Redeemed

A Matter of Focus

DECEMBER 31, 2024 Psalm 73:17-19 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! I for one truly appreciate the sentiments expressed in this psalm because it’s real. Apparently, Asaph had contemplated […]

We Have Been Redeemed

Living Up to HIS Standards, Not the Worlds

DECEMBER 30, 2024 Psalm 73:13-14 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. As the psalmist continues to describe how wicked men seem to prosper unabated by any moral boundaries, he expresses thoughts conjured in the mind of those who […]

We Have Been Redeemed

Clothed in Humility and Righteousness

DECEMBER 29, 2024 Psalm 73:5-6 They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Speaking of those who do evil, the psalmist makes this observation — one I would recommend is shared by most people, righteous or not — which is: when bad things happen […]

We Have Been Redeemed

Troublesome and Challenging

DECEMBER 28, 2024 Psalm 73:1-3 Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. As stated in the previous devotion, all who have striven to serve God and […]

We Have Been Redeemed

His Name

DECEMBER 24, 2024
Psalm 72:17
His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. and men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed.
Solomon, the son of David and the king for who David composed this prayer said, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1). theLong after silver and gold have been spent and properties sold off to highest bidder, a good name will endure through the generations. Case in point: three thousand years after he died, we still speak of Solomon and his renowned wisdom. True, he didn't finish as well as he started but, nevertheless, his name has endured through the ages.
That being said, there is some interesting commentary regarding this particular verse as it relates to the King Messiah. Specifically the Hebrew wording literally says, “may his name be perpetual.” Even more specifically, the word translated as “perpetual” –ינון yinon — is related to flourishing and increasing as fish who multiply in the sea. Some commentators go so far as to say that, along with a few other monikers like Shiloh, Menachem and Chaninah, Yinon is an actual name for the Messiah. In fact, the first Hebrew letter in each of these words just listed form the word mashiach — Messiah.