“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high.”
What is the “river”? We know that the “city of God” mentioned in the text symbolically is Jerusalem, because of the mention of the “holy place of the tabernacle of the most high.” In John 4, Jesus pointed out that the time will come when people will worship God in “spirit and in truth” wherever they are. Since this is true let’s just consider that the “city of God” is the people of God. The river and its streams “shall make glad the people of God.” If you are a Christian this pertains to you. Let’s take a look at the river and its streams. Let’s say that the “river” is the presence of God. Throughout the Bible the people of God have rejoiced and have been made glad when they knew that God was with them. Jesus made two promises that make this “river” real in our live. He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with His people after He ascended to the Father, and that He would be with them “always, even unto the end of the ages.” God’s Spirit and His presence flow like a river through our lives on a daily basis and make our hearts glad. Then let’s say that one of the “streams” is the grace of God. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul wrote: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” According to this verse, if it wasn’t for the grace of God we could not have the salvation that God freely offers through His Son. The classical definition of grace is “God’s unmerited favor.” A more understandable definition is “getting something that we do not deserve.” The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Without God’s grace we would all be lost and without hope. His grace, freely given through Jesus, allows us to come into His presence. Let’s say that one of the “streams” is prayer. You remember that when Christ died, “the veil of the temple was torn in the from the top to the bottom.” This meant that God was now available to us without anyone else to take us to Him. Hebrews 4:16 reminds us that we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need. “ The reality that God will hear and answer our prayers whenever we pray certainly makes “glad the people of God.” The wonderful thing about this “stream” is that it never ceases to flow. I’m sure that I could come up with more “streams,” but the three that we have considered should suffice to make us glad that we are the people of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. We have the promise of God’s grace and the promise of His availability through prayer. BE GLAD!!!!!! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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