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God’s Graciousness to Us
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Background
Psalm 128 is in the Deuteronomy Book of the Psalms (Psalms 107-150). These 44 Psalms, like the Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, show God’s Word as the source of salvation, deliverance, and healing. This would be fully carried out in the life of the coming Messiah, the living Word, Jesus Christ. Whereas Psalm 119 showed that God would raise the Messiah from the dead to eternal life, Psalm 128 is the ninth of 15 “songs of the degrees” (Psalms 120-134) regarding God keeping Hezekiah alive (see the notes on Psalm 120 for more details).
Psalm 85 is in the Leviticus book of the Psalms (73—89). The Old Testament book of Leviticus focuses on matters in the sanctuary: the priesthood, ceremonial laws, and feasts. Almost all of these 17 Psalms mention the sanctuary and God’s relation to it. Psalm 85 shows God’s blessings in the “land” or “earth” (verses 1,9,11,12) where His sanctuary dwells.
I am a person. I am a man. I am a son. I am a husband. I am a father. I am a brother. I am an uncle. I am a friend. I am a worker. I am a teacher. I am an American. I am a writer. I am an artist. I am a reader. I am a runner. I am a swimmer. I am a retired nursing tech. I am a cook. I am a minister. I am filled with holy spirit. I am a Bible believer. I am a bondslave to Jesus Christ. I am a member of the body of Christ. And all of this works together, because I am a born-again son of God.
As Jacob sat on the low stone wall
Sharing his evening bread
With Matthew, his fellow shepherdsman,
He savored God’s goodness and said:
Have you ever met a “self-made” person? I haven’t. Without God, people wouldn’t even have a physical body or be alive. But today it’s all about self-improvement and self-sufficiency and self-help and “selfies.”
You are a unique individual, a bundle of body-soul-spirit, with all your God-given abilities, gifts, strengths,and potential strengths (OK, weaknesses too). You’ve entered the great adventure of life, an odyssey of learning, experience, and achievement to attain the lofty goal of loving God first by following in the steps of your Lord Jesus Christ.