Psalms 123-125:
The Stage of Consecration
Introduction:
Our Three-fold Vision Leads Us to a Three-fold Consecration
To follow the Lord we must have a three-fold vision: a vision
of the world, a vision of the Lord, and a vision of the church. We
have seen these three visions in the first three Psalms of Ascent.
Once our heart is clear about the world, the Lord, and the church
life, we will be brought on to the next stage, the stage of consecration.
This stage is pictured in the next three Psalms of Ascent.
Psalms 123-125 show us a three-fold consecration based upon our three-fold
vision.
- Firstly,
because we see who the Lord is, we consecrate ourselves to the
Lord Himself (Psalm 123).
- Secondly,
because we realize the true nature of the world, we consecrate
ourselves to be separated and apart from the world (Psalm 124).
- Thirdly,
after we see the church, we consecrate ourselves to the Lord's
trustworthiness (Psalm 125).
We might think
that the third consecration should be to the church life, but we will
see that our response to a vision of the church is to consecrate ourselves
to the Lord's trustworthiness. When the church life is clearly unveiled
to us we realize that it is impossible for us to make it through.
Therefore we give ourselves to the Lord's trustworthiness and faithfulness
so that we would remain in the church life as His testimony.
| These
three psalms show us how to "go up," how to ascend in our spiritual
experience. |
These three psalms show us how to "go up," how to ascend in our spiritual
experience. We go up by a proper response to what the Lord has unveiled
to us. When the Lord unveils who He is to us, we respond by saying,
"Lord, I give myself to You." When the Lord unveils to us what the
world is, then we say, "Lord, I want to be separated from the world."
When the Lord unveils to us the marvelous church life, then we say,
"Lord, I give myself to Your trustworthiness." The most difficult
aspect of these three visions is the church life. No one can go through
the church life, and there is no life more discouraging than the church
life. However, when we come to Psalm 125 we will see that all the
problems in the church life are not with others, but with ourselves.
It is we ourselves who are the source of all the problems, so eventually
all we can say is, "Lord, I give myself to Your trustworthiness."
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Other
messages of the Psalms of Ascent
Consecration
to the Lord Himself In
the Bible there are at least four different ways to experience the
Lord's hand. He
not only supplies us with life, but also with the proper church
life, the best companions, and the best environment. All of these
items are out of His hand. When
a person has the reality of consecration it means that they are
fully attentive to the actions of the Lord Himself.
Consecration
to be Separated from the World
When we first
follow the Lord, then the world comes in to despise us. But when
we are for His testimony, the world rises up against us. The world
attacks us in three ways: as a beast to devour us, as a flood to
overwhelm us, and as a trap to ensnare us. After our first consecration
to the Lord Himself, we need the further consecration of being separated
from the world so that we can be His testimony.
Consecration
to the Lord's Trustworthiness The
psalmist says that those who trust in the Lord are "like Mount Zion,"
which is the Lord's testimony. Those who trust in the Lord are like
Mount Zion. They are His testimony which cannot be moved. This shows
us that the Lord doesn't care for our own individual spirituality.
He doesn't care so much for our being solid or strong in ourselves.
The Lord's care for us is a matter of His testimony.
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