Psalms 43:4 (ESV)
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
In the verse just before the above verse, David asks God to send him truth and light. When God does that, David knows that he can “then” go to the altar of God with “exceeding joy.” There are lot of people who wish to have “exceeding joy,” but want it without truth and light. Most tend to want to have “joy” in the midst of darkness. God wants us to come to him at His “altar.” In the Old Testament that was a place. People would have to travel and bring a lamb, or a goat or a bird to offer to God. That does not conjure up “exceeding joy.” In the New Testament that altar is our heart. We can, right where we are seated, offer up praise to God. God does not want our worship of Him and to Him to be burdensome. He wants our praise and worship to bring exceeding joy because it is God who is our joy. That is the key to the above verse. Our joy is God Himself. We are to rejoice in what God does for us in regard to blessings. But, are real joy is not just the blessings, but God Himself. He is our Joy. In most verses in the Bible we read about joy as something God gives us or we experience when we are walking in step with him. In the above verse we see joy not as an external attribute for us to enjoy, but as an attribute of God Himself. Our joy can be the blessings God gives us. But, our joy is even more than that. God is our joy!!
No comments:
Post a Comment