July 6 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 33:

¹Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
²Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
³Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
⁴For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
⁵He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
⁶By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
⁷He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
¹⁰The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
¹¹The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
¹³The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
¹⁵He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
¹⁷An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
¹⁸Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
¹⁹To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
²⁰Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
²¹For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
²²Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Devotional

When the Bible describes the happy condition of the people of God, it describes it as every man sitting under his vine and under his fig tree. "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree." What a beautiful picture of peace, plenty and prosperi­ty! God has promised such prosperity to his people, if they would fear God and walk in his ways. As long as they did this, they were blessed above all other people. "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what na­tion is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so right­eous as all this law, which I set before you this day?" "Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help!" "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name." "Hap­py is that people, whose God is the Lord.

What about the nations of today? Why are not they so abund­antly blessed? Is it not, because they have departed from God's Word? "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord."

Prayer

O Lord, our God, Thou art God alone, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments. Thou gavest glorious promises to Thy people of old. Thou didst choose them to be a special peo­ple unto Thee, above all people that were upon the face of the earth, and Thou didst bless them exceedingly, as long as they gave heed unto Thy word. Thou art the same God today, and Thy promises are sure. Grant that the nations of the world may fear Thee. May Thy people be zealous of good works. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Micah 4:6; Zech. 3:10; Deut. 28:1ff; 4:7, 8; 33:29.

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