Psalms 8:1 and “Father, I Adore You” (Coelho, 1972)
My Shepherd met me in the Psalms this morning, and laid me down in Psalm 35. The Mind of the Spirit connected with the spirit of my mind in verses 5-6:
Psalms 35:5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
Psalms 35:6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
The Angel of the LORD was very active in the Old Testament:
Comforting Hagar in her distress (Genesis 16:7-11; see 21:17), Abraham (Genesis 22:11-15), and Jacob in his distress (Genesis 31:11-13).
He comforted Moses regarding the affliction of his people (Exodus 3:2), and in their wilderness wanderings (Exodus 14:19).
He reproved God’s erring prophet and comforted the ass he beat (Numbers 22:22-35).
He comforted and reproved Israel after they entered Canaan and failed to drive out God’s enemies (Judges 2:1-5—“an angel of the LORD” 2:1, “the angel of the LORD”).
He reproved the inhabitants of Meroz (Judges 5:23), to reprove and comfort God’s people under the affliction of Midian and called Gideon to deliver them (Judges 6:11-12).
He comforted a barren couple with the promise of Samson (Judges 13:3-21).
If I cite them all, we will become weary!
To summarize: He was active in the lives of David and Elijah, to comfort and to reprove, and to judge mightily wicked kings and nations. My favorite appearance of the angel of the LORD was when He appeared to destroy the “camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand” (2 Kings 19:35).
He also appeared in the Gospels many times, comforting the saints and testifying of Christ.
He made multiple appearances in Acts:
In Acts 5:19, He opened the prison of the Jews in which they had cast Peter and John.
In Acts 8:26, He spoke to Philip and carried him to the chariot of the Ethiopian, in Acts 12:7.
He entered Herod’s prison and delivered Peter.
In Acts 12:23, He smote Herod and executed him for his arrogance and defiance of GOD.
In Acts 27:23, He stood by Paul to comfort and counsel him in a time of distress.
Along the still waters, I pleaded with the LORD that He would send His angel to persecute those who would persecute us, and “chase them” that would work evil in our nation against the Lord’s anointed (Psalm 35:5-6).
In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, I thought of the truth that the word translated angel essentially means messenger, and is sometimes used to speak of human ambassadors (Genesis 32:3, 6; Numbers 20:14; Joshua 6:17, 25; Judges 6:35; 1 Samuel 2:5; 2 Kings 1:2-3, 5; Haggai 1:13; where “messenger” translates the same word used for angels) and Matthew 11:10 where the word translated as angel in the Greek is used to speak of John the Baptist. See also:
Luke 7:24, where it speaks of John’s messengers sent to Jesus.
Luke 9:52, where Jesus sent messengers to the Samaritans.
James 2:25, where the Spirit, through James, calls the spies angels who were sent into Jericho (see Joshua 6:17, 25).
I also thought of the definition of spirit angels: “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire” (Hebrews 1:7).
It occurred to me that a messenger sent by God is an angel of the Lord, and we, who are messengers of God, are His “angels” empowered by His Spirit so that the Angel of the LORD acts in this world through His angels (as messengers, as ambassadors for Christ). And I remembered Jesus prophesying that His Spirit would move through our belly into this world to comfort the saints (John 14:16, 18, 26; see Acts 9:31; 16:40) and reprove the world (John 7:38-39; Ephesians 5:11).
I reread Psalm 35:5-6 and prayed that God would use me as His messenger, under the power and influence of His Spirit, to “chase” the wicked, bring God’s comfort to the saints, and sometimes His reproof (2 Timothy 4:2), and sometimes His judgment upon the wicked.
He said, You will not be an effective messenger unless the Spirit of God moves through you, and He will only move through you if you are under the influence of His Spirit. I cried, How shall I be filled? He spoke to my heart with His word: Here is the key: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
At the table, Christ, my Head, anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. We walked together into the Harvest, goodness and mercy following.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live as soon as I can set up the livestream.
Amen, what a blessin