Read Psalm 115:9-18 9O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 12The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 14May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! 15May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 16The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 17The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. 18But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
Yesterday we saw the idol worshiper, who futilely tries to withhold glory from God and place it upon an object of their own design, declining into the likeness of that lifeless thing. Here the decline is complete – down into silence, where they will not praise the Lord. Ever.
By contrast the one who trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ, is remembered and blessed in him. No matter how small or how great, the shared blessings of Christ for those who are in Christ are the same: Increase. The Earth. Forevermore.
Increase – Ours is always a life of progress in Christ. Change is occurring. The work is being faithfully completed in him. It might not seem so because the way forward with Jesus is often backwards, the way up is always down. But Christ is increasingly being formed in you, Christian. Believe it.
The Earth – Our inheritance. The new earth awaits us with all of its wonders and delights, the greatest of which will be the presence of God and Jesus as our light and life. Until Earth 2.0 why not enjoy Earth 1.0?
Forevermore – It’s is rare to find a reference to an eternal after life in the Old Testament, but here we have one in all its glory. The idol worshiper is silent at death, but to live is Christ is to bless his name from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
Prayer. Jesus, your blessings sure didn’t end at forgiveness. They stretch into eternity. Increase me, bless me with your indwelling spirit of faith and love. Amen.
To Live is Christ 