Synoptic Gospels 3: Shepherd and King (3)
Pray Psalm 81.8, 16.
“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you…
He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat;
And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”
Sing Psalm 81.16, 8
(St. Petersburg: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
The finest foods for us He will buy, and furnish us an abundant supply.
How sweet our lives can be in the LORD, when only we heed His glorious Word.
Refrain
“O Israel, hear, admonished now be; My people, repent, return to Me!”
Read Matthew 6.19-21, 25-34; Luke 12.32; meditate on Matthew 6.19-21.
Preparation
1. Where did Jesus tell us to lay up our treasure?
2. Why should we do this?
Meditation
The Word that Jesus fed His flock, and that He feeds us daily, nourishes our spirit for life in the Kingdom of God. The word translated “lay up” is, in the Greek, θησαυρίζετε, thesaurizete. Do you see the word thesaurus there? A thesaurus is a treasure-trove of synonyms, a resource helping us to learn a variety of ever-more precise ways of saying something. Jesus says we should not “treasure up”—not feed on—things that, by their very nature, are made to perish. Material things have a relatively short use-by date, when compared with the eternity that stretches before us.
True happiness—blessedness—is found within the Kingdom of God, feeding on the Word of our Shepherd/King. Within the Kingdom of God, banquets of true spiritual life are available to us—righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus counsels us to treasure these, and to make them our constant objective and delight.
But we will only do this when our heart’s desire is to increase in the life God has in store for us in Jesus.
Is this where your heart is? Consider the way you use your time, the things that occupy your mind, the stuff that gets your heart beating rapidly, and that you long to possess. What are you feeding your soul? And what do these say about the treasure you are seeking to lay up for yourself? If it’s not the treasure of spiritual things, it may be that you’ve never truly seen the great value of these. Turn to Jesus and consider Him (Heb. 3.1; 12.3); He will feed you with the beauty, goodness, and truth that never fade, and which can never be exhausted in this life or the next.
They who are truly righteous seek the food of God’s Word and the treasures of heaven to enrich their earthly lives.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Within the Word of God, The Scriptures—Jesus throughout—are found treasures old and new.
Jesus said, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like
a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matt. 13.52).
And the writer of Psalm 119 stated: “I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure” (vs.162).
If we desire to be fed by our Good Shepherd Jesus we must follow Him where He leads: into the “green pastures” and beside “still waters” (Ps. 23.2) of His Word. Otherwise, we will starve or die of thirst.
“I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23.12).
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
for I am called by Your Name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jer. 15.16).
“Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!” (Ps. 119.127).
When we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, He delights to give us His Holy Spirit, thereby filling us with Himself (Lk. 11.13). And we grow that special relationship by filling our hearts, minds, and souls with His Word.
Accompanying this growth is the assurance of our salvation and calling into Kingdom work.
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12.32).
As we are gloriously fed by His Spirit through His Word, we long to share the bounty with others.
We long to guide those in our Personal Mission Field into the Word to feast there on His goodness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, and love. It becomes our heart’s desire.
“But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jer. 20.9).
The Shepherd Who feeds His flock wants us to help with that work. He said:
“You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5.14, 16).
Seeking first His Kingdom and righteousness leads to lighting the world with His goodness.
Reflection
1. Why is reading, meditating on, and studying the Word of God like eating?
2. What is the role of the Holy Spirit when we’re eating like this?
3. How can we know when we have properly digested this “food” and it is doing its job?
Something the soul will have, which it looks upon as the best thing; in which it has pleasure and confidence above other things. Christ counsels to make our best things the joys and glories of the other world, those things not seen which are eternal, and to place our happiness in them. There are treasures in heaven. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 6.19-21
Pray Psalm 81.1-8.
Spend some time meditating on the glories of heaven and Jesus exalted in beauty and holiness there. Let your soul feed on the beauty, goodness, glory, and truth of that heavenly realm. Call on the Lord to help you keep this vision before your eyes throughout the day (Ps. 16.8).
Sing Psalm 81.1-8
(St. Petersburg: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
O sing for joy to Jesus our strength; to Jacob’s great God shout joyfully at length!
And strike the drum, and offer a song; all instruments, let your music prolong.
Refrain
“O Israel, hear, admonished now be; My people, repent, return to Me!”
vv. 3-5, 8
Let every kind of instrument play to celebrate God’s deliverance today.
It is His statute and His command to worship and praise all over the land.
Refrain
Declare His mercy, tell of His grace; our enemies flee the look of His face.
In mighty deeds strong witness He gave, and powerf’ly did His chosen ones save.
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast is concentrating on praying the psalms to seek revival—why we should and what we might expect. In our twice-weekly Crosfigell column we have begun a new series on Brendan, called “The Navigator.” Why was he called that? Join us and find out. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, enters the home stretch now by leading us to pray for our church’s impact. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
