December 15, 2021 – Psalm 68:18 & Ephesians 4:12,13

I love reading the Psalms and, sometimes, I note that the book is my favorite (that’s a hard call to single out one favorite from God’s Word in the OT) because in it I read about the experiences of the psalmists, experiences that are my own and to which I can so easily relate. But there’s another reason: The Psalms speak so much of Messiah and are so often quoted in the NT as prophecies of his person and work. For instance, in Psalm 68, David writes, “When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious— that you, Lord God, might dwell there” (Psalm 68:18).

Paul quoted this verse and saw in this text a picture of Christ who has given gifts to his church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12,13). What wonderful gifts! How Christ has poured out his grace upon us!

Our great High Priest hath gone before,

now on his Church his grace to pour;

and still his love he giveth:

oh, may our hearts to him ascend;

may all within us upward tend

to him who ever liveth! -- Arthur T. Russell (1851)