Written ~ 11-13-2023
Psalm 48:9-10
9 O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love as we worship in Your Temple.
10 As Your Name deserves, O God, You will be praised to the ends of the earth.
Your strong right hand is filled with victory.
The whole chapter of Psalms 48 is praising who God is and what He has done as the defender of Jerusalem. When we come to verses 9 and 10, we see the result of this praise. The automatic response to witnessing the Glory of God is to worship Him. When verse 9 says, “O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love…” How do we do that?
The dictionary gives us some insight on the word meditate:
- To engage in contemplation or reflection
- To focus one’s thoughts on: reflect on or ponder over
- To go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly
- To consider at length
- To think or consider especially quietly, soberly, and deeply
- Deliberate – characterized by or resulting from careful and thorough consideration
If we are thinking about the unfailing love of God and worshiping Him, are we truly taking the time to meditate on what we know about God from the Scriptures? Do you suppose it’s more likely we read our Bibles, then go about our day without thinking about what we read? Possibly… I’m sure each day is different…
Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about meditating…
Joshua 1:8, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night…” (NLT)
Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (NKJV)
Psalm 4:4, “…Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.” (NKJV)
Psalm 63:6, “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night.” (NKJV)
Psalm 77:6, “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes a diligent search.” (NKJV)
Psalm 77:12, “I will also meditate on all Your work and talk of Your deeds.” (NKJV)
Psalm 119:15, “I will meditate on Your precepts (commands), and contemplate Your ways.” (NKJV)
Psalm 119:27, “Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.” (NLT)
Psalm 119:48, “I honor and love Your commands. I meditate on Your decrees.” (NLT)
Psalm 119:52, “I meditate on Your age-old regulations; O Lord, they comfort me.” (NLT)
Psalm 119:117, “Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on Your decrees.” (NLT)
Psalm 119:148, “My eyes are awake through the night that I may meditate on Your word.” (NKJV)
Psalm 143:5, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.” (NKJV)
Psalm 145:5, “I will meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor and Your wonderful miracles.” (NLT)
Philippians 4:8, “…if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (NKJV)
1 Timothy 4:15, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” (NKJV)
WOW! There were several more I could have listed, but I think if we take a look at all of those verses, we can really begin to understand the purpose of meditating on the unfailing love of God! In order to know God’s unfailing love, we must study and meditate on the Scriptures! As we learn more about the Lord, we see the marvelous things He has done, then in our worship of Him it creates the type of praise within us that our Almighty God deserves!!
Verse 48:10a,
10a “As Your Name deserves, O God, You will be praised to the ends of the earth.”
When we give honor and glory to the Name of Jesus and our Heavenly Father, the word gets out about how awesome our God is! So, when we meditate on the Word of God, as we worship the Lord and praise His Holy Name it rises up within us a declaration of how powerful the works of the Lord are!
Verse 48:10b,
10b “Your strong right hand is filled with victory.”
What is the significance of God’s “right hand?” I was curious, I have never really questioned it before. So, I thought I would dig a little further. Google has a wealth of information so that’s where I conducted my search for this topic.
Significance of the “right hand” ~
- The “right hand” is seen as a place of honor and status throughout the Bible
- The right hand of God or God’s right hand may refer to the omnipotence of God
- Omnipotence = one who has unlimited power or authority
- The right hand signifies strength. It symbolizes ruler-ship, authority, sovereignty, and blessing. Exodus 15:6 says, “Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy.”
In verse 48:10b, it’s telling us that God’s right hand is strong. This verse also tells us that it is filled with VICTORY! Do you know what that means to us? That no matter what our circumstances, whatever battle is raging around us, God, with His mighty right hand will prevail and have victory over your situation. Isn’t that what having faith and trust in the Lord is all about? That we not only know God’s love for us is unfailing and that He is worthy of our praise, but that HE IS VICTORIOUS! How do we have this assurance? Well… by meditating on His Word and making it real, making the things we read in Scripture a part of everything we do or say. Our every thought should have to wade through the Scriptures crammed within our brains before we utter a single word, or before making any decisions. That’s where 1 Timothy 4:15 from our list above comes into play…
“Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” (NKJV)
Look over our verses for today… let’s see what words stand out…
MEDITATE
WORSHIP
PRAISE
VICTORY
I’m going to close with Psalm 47:1-2, it sums up, at least for me, how the two verses in chapter 48 make me feel!!
1 Come, everyone! Clap your hands!
Shout to God with joyful praise!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King of all the earth.
~AMEN~