Old Testament reading: Psalm 102-104
With every fiber of my being and all that in me is, I am resisting the urge to comment on Psalm 103. It is a genuine treasure, and you don’t need my help to appreciate and be encouraged by it. Instead, I want to focus on the gem found in Psalm 102:18-22 and the “people yet to be created” who will praise the Lord. I believe this is a reference to the establishment of the church and to God’s people who comprise it, namely, Christians. This people will be brought forth when the name of the Lord is declared in Jerusalem (v 21) and all peoples and kingdoms are gathered together as one to serve the Lord. Compare this to Isaiah 2:2-4 or Micah 4:1-3 (which are parallel texts). Also, I realized that I missed this same reference at the end of Psalm 22, verse 31 specifically. This undeniably Messianic Psalm closes with a reference to the righteousness established in Christ being declared to “a people who will be born” (note the future tense). God always had the church and Christians in His mind! Christ was not killed because He failed to establish His kingdom. Rather, He was crucified for the express purpose of establishing His kingdom.
New Testament reading: Acts 9-10
“You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Today’s reading marks the beginning of “phase four” in preaching the gospel to the whole world. The gospel had been preached in Jerusalem (Acts 2); the gospel had been preached in Judea (Acts 8:1, 4), and the gospel had been preached in Samaria (Acts 8:5). Now it was going to “the uttermost parts of the earth” (KJV), beginning with Cornelius and the Gentiles in Caesarea. As Peter was the first apostle to preach to the Jews (Acts 2), so also was he the first to preach to the Gentiles. Thus the Gentiles were now witnesses to the righteousness of God (cf Isa 62:2), which will be further discussed after tomorrow’s New Testament reading. See you then!
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