Advent Devotionals - December 2nd
Communion
“The Lord shall show loving kindness: and our land shall giver her increase.”
Our Communion Proper for this week comes from Psalm 85:12. Very Short, but packed with spiritual edification as we continue to prepare for Christmas season.
When we see little snippets from Psalms, or from any bit of scripture, it is important for us to first look at what it is alluding to. We cannot only look at the 12th verse of Psalm 85 but must also look at Psalm 85 in its entirety.
We see in it, the restoration of Israel and a return from exile. They have finally returned from Babylon to see their beloved homeland. Thanking God for their fortune. But they continue to ask God to save them in the Psalm.
Yes, they returned, but what they returned to was rumble and destruction. A temple that needed to be rebuilt. They had thanked God for what they had received but continued to ask for his mercy and salvation.
The Psalm then culminates to a point of hope and trust in God. “The Lord shall show loving kindness: and our land shall give her increase.”
Through all that the Israelites have been through, their trust is still in the Lord, knowing that he will show them loving kindness. He will continue to do deeds for them that lead to growth (The old English use of kindness meaning “produce or increase”).
The Lord will show an increase in the nation of Israel through his love for them. The Land will increase and give to the people.
It is this trust in the Lord that we must show as we prepare for the coming of Jesus. God will show his loving kindness through the gift of his son. Through the salvation of his people. But it will not be an increase in mere crops or in wealth. It will be an increase of grace and salvation. An increase of the hope to come that is Heaven.
God continues to show us his loving kindness. And in a few short weeks, that loving kindness will be a small helpless infant wrapped in swaddling cloth. But in that small infant, is the glory of our salvation.
May we be quickened so that we may rejoice in the Lord and all that he has done for us. And return our increase back to him.
Fr. Spencer Stubblefield
“The Lord shall show loving kindness: and our land shall giver her increase.”
Our Communion Proper for this week comes from Psalm 85:12. Very Short, but packed with spiritual edification as we continue to prepare for Christmas season.
When we see little snippets from Psalms, or from any bit of scripture, it is important for us to first look at what it is alluding to. We cannot only look at the 12th verse of Psalm 85 but must also look at Psalm 85 in its entirety.
We see in it, the restoration of Israel and a return from exile. They have finally returned from Babylon to see their beloved homeland. Thanking God for their fortune. But they continue to ask God to save them in the Psalm.
Yes, they returned, but what they returned to was rumble and destruction. A temple that needed to be rebuilt. They had thanked God for what they had received but continued to ask for his mercy and salvation.
The Psalm then culminates to a point of hope and trust in God. “The Lord shall show loving kindness: and our land shall give her increase.”
Through all that the Israelites have been through, their trust is still in the Lord, knowing that he will show them loving kindness. He will continue to do deeds for them that lead to growth (The old English use of kindness meaning “produce or increase”).
The Lord will show an increase in the nation of Israel through his love for them. The Land will increase and give to the people.
It is this trust in the Lord that we must show as we prepare for the coming of Jesus. God will show his loving kindness through the gift of his son. Through the salvation of his people. But it will not be an increase in mere crops or in wealth. It will be an increase of grace and salvation. An increase of the hope to come that is Heaven.
God continues to show us his loving kindness. And in a few short weeks, that loving kindness will be a small helpless infant wrapped in swaddling cloth. But in that small infant, is the glory of our salvation.
May we be quickened so that we may rejoice in the Lord and all that he has done for us. And return our increase back to him.
Fr. Spencer Stubblefield
Recent
Archive
2022
June
September
November
December
Advent Devotionals - December 1stAdvent Devotionals - December 2ndAdvent Devotionals - December 5thAdvent Devotionals - December 6thAdvent Devotionals - December 7thAdvent Devotionals - December 8thAdvent Devotionals - December 9thAdvent Devotionals - December 12thAdvent Devotionals - December 13thAdvent Devotionals - December 14thAdvent Devotionals - December 15thAdvent Devotionals - December 16thAdvent Devotionals - December 19thAdvent Devotionals - December 20thAdvent Devotional - December 21stAdvent Devotionals - December 22ndAdvent Devotionals - December 23rd
No Comments