Psalm 134:2,3
In Psalm 134:2,3 we read "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.'' That sanctuary is the temple, God's house, and lifting up the hands is pointing the soul unto God Who is the fountain of all blessedness.
The hands only symbolize what the soul does. The mere closing of our eyes, folding of our hands, and bowing of our heads means nothing, if the soul is not pointed to God. In our prayers we lift not only our desires but also our thoughts concerning God. Our thoughts while we pray will reveal whether we are blessing God or elevating ourselves above Him and trying to make Him our servant.
Then too, lifting our souls to the sanctuary is pointing to Christ and His cross, which was so clearly pictured in the temple in its bloody sacrifices. That cross must be a basic reason for blessing God. Nothing He has done brings true goodness to us apart from that cross. As we in our versification sing (PRC Psalter):
Yea in His place of holiness
Lift up your hands the Lord to bless;
And unto you be given
The joys that Zion doth afford,
The richest blessings of the Lord
Who made the earth and heav'n.
Here mention is made of "the joys that Zion doth afford.'' These are the blessings which we receive through God's Son as our heavenly King, because of what He did for us as our High Priest and through His cross.
We do well also to note that He Who blesses us is the maker of heaven and earth, and thus has all things completely under His control. Therefore no matter what your problem is, go to Him. He has the solution and the power to make all things well with you. Bless Him as the one Who knows what is good for you and can bring it to pass.
If you approach Him that way, He will bless you. Not because a blessing upon you depends upon you blessing Him but because you are coming to the Fount of all blessing. Question His goodness, and you are coming to an idol that cannot bless you.
Read: Psalm 124
Psalter versification: #372:2
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #404
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Kings 17
II Kings 18:1-12
Acts 20
Psalm 148:1-14
Proverbs 18:6-7
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Quote for Reflection:
Robert Candlish on I John 2: "This anointing is permanent; ‘it abideth in you.’ It is not a fitful emotion or wayward impulse, a rapture of excitement, alternating perhaps with deep depression. It partakes more of the nature of a calm, constant, settled conviction. Frames, feelings, fancies, are all fluctuating; they are like the surface waters of the ocean, agitated by every wind. But this inward anointing is far down in the still depths beneath. It "abideth in us;" the same always in its own inherent stillness and strength, amid whatever tossings its contact with the upper air may cause."
Additional Info
- Date: 30-June
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.