Daily Benefits

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”

(Psalm 68:19)

The benefits are daily. They are also a load. A load is never light, hence its name. Yes, His yoke is easy, but His load can be very heavy.

To accentuate what is being said here, let’s take a look at how it was written. Whenever you read your Bible and see words that are italicized, that means these words were added by the scribe during the translation. They were added so as to make the English make sense when reaad, seeing as how almost no translation is ever word for word.

Below is how it would be transliterated if done literally. The added words of the scribe have been removed.

Blessed the Lord, daily loadeth, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

In my opinion, when we remove the added words by the scribe of, “us with benefits”, the emphasis switches from the benefits to where it should be, with God. The context changes when we shift our attention away from the benefits to God. Now we see that we are being loaded daily with God and not some arbitrary benefit. This is a very good thing because it is my belief that too many people go to God only for the benefit, the goodies. This is the foundation of the prosperity ministries that were so popular in the 70’s through the 00’s. Yes, God produces spiritual and physical benefits, but if that is your only reason for God, what are you going to do once your need, or rather your lust has been fulfilled? If all you want are goodies from God, you will have no need for God once you got your goodies.

The way this verse was originally written has us daily loaded with God, not goodies. Now maybe we can start to understand why the load is heavy. We also must understand that God comes in many shapes, forms, substances, people, and circumstances. God answers problems. He also creates them.

“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:5-7)

But let’s not get hung up on the load of God. Let’s move forward to the end, the point and purpose of God, our salvation.  Everything, and I mean everything since the fall of man has moved towards this one objective, salvation. Think of God as a big o’ heavy battery that has been loaded onto our cart. 

Yes, it’s heavy to tote, but it is fully charged with unlimited power and potential. The battery’s power and potential are activated by our faith and belief in it. If we have no faith in the battery (God) then all we are doing is pulling around a big ol’ heavy weight. Activate it with your faith in Christ.

The very last word in the verse is “Selah”. This is a command for the music to stop and to contemplate what was just said. The message just spoken (sung, actually) is important and the Psalmist wants everyone to dwell upon its wisdom and explore the depths of its divinity. This verse really needs the devotion of our time in thought and prayer.

Bill Hitchcock