Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Audio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reachmanyradio/thoughts-in-worship-01-02-2019

This is devotional thought number 9 in our devotional series, “The Gospel According to Psalms.”

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Psalms 146:3, 4).

There was a point during the time of ancient Israel, that they were not satisfied with God as their absolute king and ruler. They wanted to have a human being on the throne just as the heathens did, and God was not pleased. He gave them explicit counsel concerning the consequences of their desire through His prophet, but they did not heed the warnings. According to God’s permissive will, though He did not intend it to be so from the beginning, He gave them kings, and the consequences were realized almost immediately. It is never a good idea to put our trust in the strength of men.

Many years had lapsed since God anointed the first king to rule over Israel. Uzziah ascended the throne, and reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1). It must have been discouraging for the people of God when king Uzziah died. For many years, he ruled under the favor and direction of God. “And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.” (2 Chronicles 26:5). Who would not want a king to rule over them that had the favor of God? It appeared that under the leadership of this king, Israel would be invincible.

“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.” (2 Chronicles 26:16-19). After all of that, the great king Uzziah died. Understanding the reason this king died may have been even more discouraging to the people than the fact that he died. Like Lucifer, he allowed his pride to lead him down the path to destruction.

The Lord saw the need of His people during this time of sadness. They had lost the leadership that they had grown accustomed to putting their faith in. Who would lead them now? Would the next king bring them the protection and prosperity they desired? The Lord gave Isaiah a vision of the mighty God of heaven. He was taken into the bewildering presence of the only true potentate of the universe. Isaiah needed to understand that God was still on the throne and in control of the affairs of men. Isaiah recognized his own unworthiness and received the blessing, cleansing, and commission of God. He understood clearly now, beyond any other time, the importance of trusting only in the Lord. Israel would endure many hard years because of their distrust of God, and Isaiah would be His mouthpiece.
Learn from the experience of Israel. God alone is worthy of absolute trust. When...