Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalm 98:1-9
Psalm 98:1-9
1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn--shout for joy before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
The wise man tried all there was to be tried in his pursuit of happiness and trying to find meaning in life. After unlimited power as king over a world empire, after having wealth beyond any living before or after him, after building gardens that came to be seen as one of the wonders of the world, having a thousand wives and using stimulants he concluded that it was all a waste of time and brought no lasting pleasure or any real meaning to his life. The only thing he found to give meaning to his life was what his father had told him as a young man, and that was to respect God and keep his commandments.
His advice was to get wisdom, keep it and live it. The wisdom he said one must get is to fear the Lord and follow his ways. James describes this as the wisdom that is from above as opposed to that wisdom that is earthy, natural and demonic. Satan has always tried to convince people (and has been very successful in doing so) that serving God makes one miserable and following our own desires will make us happy and our lives fulfilled. What Solomon found was the more we get (whether pleasure, work, money, women or wine) the more we want and the more we need to satisfy our desires.
Heavenly Father, fill my heart with a desire to know you better, to respect you more and to live according to your will to the best of my ability. I have done so many things that have hurt you and I thank you for your forgiveness and ask you to continue to forgive me when I fail to live up to your glory. Give me your wisdom so I can know what is really important and what is really needed in my life. Use me to encourage others who are struggling and to help those around me to give their lives to you and serve you. Thank you for all those who have been such an encouragement to me. I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord and Savior.
--Robert
