Daily Benefits

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.  He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death." (Psalm 68:19-20)

Let’s break this down for it is truly fascinating. This is a little different than what most folks are accustom to. We’re going back to the original Hebrew and give a literal transliteration. The message is so much more powerful when we get the English out of the way. Especially the second verse. As you will see, there’s a lot of God in that one sentence!

“who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” has been transliterated from: “Yowm ‘amac ‘el yĕshuw`ah”

Yowm-daily

`amac-  loadeth

‘el- us with benefits, even the God

yĕshuw`ah- of our salvation or the salvation of God.

The single word, “ ‘el “ means God. And “yĕshuw`ah” means salvation by God.

What the Psalmist is saying is that God daily loads us up with the benefits of God! Now that’s exciting. This is every day. God never stops nor does He ever run out of these benefits and attributes of Him.

Think about it. What could possibly be the benefits of God? Well for starters, love. After all, as John taught, God is love (1 John 4:8,16). Paul taught, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). If there was anything God wants to bestow upon His children it is the love of Himself. Pure and undefiled, this love seeks the benefit of another. And you can add to this love all the fruits of His Holy Spirit which include joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Truth, holiness, and righteousness are trademark attributes of God. Most importantly, our salvation is of God. Every day we are infused with the form, essence, and nature of God. We are to be God like in our daily lives. God sees to it that we can be by filling us up with himself.

The next verse gets even more fascinating when you look at how it was originally written.

Verse 20 is “He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death" and is transliterated from, “‘el ‘el mowsha`ah Yĕhovih ‘Adonay towtsa'ah maveth”. Let’s take a look at what this means.

‘el-God

‘el-God

mowsha`ah- Salvation (of God)

‘Adonay-God. It’s a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence. (Source: Gesenius)

towtsa'ah- Out from. Escape

maveth-Realm of the dead. Death. Dying.

So the verse literally reads, “God, God, salvation of God, The title for God, escape, death”.

Yes, you can load me up every day with plenty of God and escaping out from death!

The benefits of God are God himself. God is our portion. “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him” (Lamentations 3:24).

God maintains our lot. “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot” (Psalms 16:5).

Too many think in terms of God’s benefits as “stuff”. They think in terms of worldly possessions. Prosperity theology or prosperity gospel was most prominent during the 1970-s through the year 2,000. This theology preached material wealth and gain as the benefits of God. But as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, without the benefit of God’s love, all preaching, teaching, and writings are but “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

God, “daily loadeth us with benefits”. Never forget that. God’s well never runs dry. Oh no, quite the opposite.

“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:19-20).

Bill Hitchcock