Blesed is the Nation whose God is the Lord

[Revmitchell]

Psalm 33
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.


How should we apply this to our lives in America?

 

[saturneptune]

Good question. America is the most blessed nation in history, and at the same time the most self centered and secular in history. The point is that God has dealt with nations for a lot less. It is easy to blame the government, but the government is but a reflection of us. Until Americans stop worrying about themselves and their material possessions and start caring and loving their fellow man, until Americans start worshiping and praising God for the honor He deserves and being thankful for Jesus, this country will not improve. When the heart of America changes, so will the government. We have the rulers we deserve, which is why more often than not, we are faced with two pitiful choices.

 

[Revmitchell]

What scripture would lead us to understand that we are self centered? And secular?

 

[StefanM]

Psalm 33
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
.....


How should we apply this to our lives in America?

We shouldn't. God did not choose America for his own inheritance. "The nation whose God is the LORD" was Israel. It's not even a matter of America choosing to follow God. The fact is that God did not chose the USA for his own inheritance.

 

[J. Jump]

I would agree that that passage wasn't written with the US in mind, but all the nations will be part of Christ's inheritance as His inheritance is the earth and rulership over it.

What scripture would lead us to understand that we are self centered? And secular?

I don't know that there is certain Scripture that points this out as a nation, but we are definitely in the Laodician period of church history, which is sad for the state of the church, but exciting, because it shows us that God's plan is right on track!

 

[James_Newman]

Isaiah 30:1-3
1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

 

[Revmitchell]

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 

[StefanM]

I think the closest thing analogous to the psalm would be God's relationship to the church.

 

[saturneptune]

What Scripture would lead us to think America is self-centered? How about love your neighbor as yourself? How about thou shalt not kill? How about the story of the good samaratan? If you work in a job that deals with the public, it should be quite apparant that we are self centered? If you drive it should be quite apparant that we are self centered. If you look at abortion rates, it should be quite apparant we are self-centered.

How about that in the last days, our love will grow cold for each other. When people are starving around the world each and every day, and we are worried about how clean our dog's teeth are, we are self centered. When there are entire nations where there is no medical care and diseases rampant we got rid of years ago, and we worry about how the latest McDonalds hamburger affects our cholesterol, we are self-centered. When Americans plop their fat carcasses on a couch, open the chips and beer, watch an in depth show like "American Idol", while others beg for a drink of clean water, we are self-centered.

When we as Americans would rather take a club and hit a stupid little white ball into a stupid little hole in the ground than go to church and worship God, etc etc, etc. ...

Praise God I do not work with the public. I have no tolerance of them. But you asked how can we as a nation respond, change our hearts to a Christ-like heart. You think we are not ripe for judgement. I could go on for pages.

 

[StraightAndNarrow]

Psalm 33
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.


How should we apply this to our lives in America?

The nation whose God is the Lord and the people He hath chosen for his own inheritance is the nation of Israel. There is no mention in the entire Bible of another favored nation.