May 12, 2020

Good Morning Fellow Travelers,

Read: Psalm 68:19-20

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.” Psalm 68:19-20

Psalm 118:1 says, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because His mercy endures forever.” This invitation to thank God reminds us that He is good. He possesses everlasting mercy and is kind. We often picture God as stern and implacable, more to be feared than loved. But we err in that, for in Psalm 68:19-20 the Psalmist shows One who is tender and stoops down in love to help the weak, relieve the weary, and deliver us. His mercy loads us daily with benefits. Let’s go to this Psalm and consider that mercy.

I invite you to consider three simple words: benefits, loadeth, and daily. Let’s think first of His benefits. There are so many that we cannot name but a few here. Think of His grace on our souls. His goodness is most often seen in His salvation and His unmerited favor on us through the gift of faith. Our sins, which would have crushed us down to hell, He has already borne. God continually furnishes us with occasions for praise. For the much He has given, our thanks is too weak, too mean. Daily He loads us with the benefit of salvation.

Now think of the benefit of the kingdom blessings of Christ in brotherhood and Christian fellowship. Someone, observing our love as a congregation, said, “You Christians have family, even when you don’t have family.” Bless the Lord for family.

Remember the benefits of health, food, abundant gardens, adequate jobs, homes, transportation, sunshine, rain, air, water, grass, and trees. Don’t forget the flowers. And what about His burden bearing? Think now of the weight of these benefits of God’s bounty. He is lavish with His bounties, He loads us with them. Are we in turn lavish to others? Here is the benchmark of real Christianity. Appreciating God’s gifts leads us to be frugal and careful when calculating our own needs, but joyfully loose when responding to others.

And now to think that God’s lavish outpouring happens daily. If a beggar came two days to our door asking for clothing and bread, we would meet his needs. But, if he returned for six days we would say it was enough and tell him to seek others. This is our humanity, so selfish. Can you boast of thirty years, sixty years? Daily He loads you with His benefits. Bless Him.

It is not the size of the problems we face that weighs us down, but the smallness of our faith and trust. Remember, He daily loadeth us with benefits.

~ James Baer