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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 2 August 2026:
Psalm 135:1-4 — Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD, give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God!… For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.
Psalm 135 opens with an exuberant call to worship. Those serving in the temple are summoned to praise the Lord, yet this invitation extends far beyond the priests and Levites. Under the new covenant, every believer has become part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Through Christ, we continually stand in God’s presence, offering spiritual sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, obedience, and love. Worship is no longer confined to a physical temple or a particular hour of the day. It becomes the defining purpose of the believer’s entire life.
The psalmist first points to God’s goodness as the foundation of praise. We praise Him not because our circumstances are always pleasant, but because He is eternally good. His character never changes. His wisdom never fails. His love never diminishes. Everything He does flows from His perfect holiness and goodness. Because God Himself is infinitely worthy, praise becomes the most rational response of every creature who truly sees Him.
The Lord’s choosing of Israel also points beyond the old covenant to the greater work of redemption accomplished in Christ. God’s people have always existed because of His gracious initiative, never because of their own merit. Jesus declared, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). Salvation begins in God’s gracious purpose, reaches its fulfillment through Christ’s atoning work, and continues through the transforming ministry of the Holy Spirit. Every believer therefore stands before God not as one who earned His favor, but as one graciously adopted into His family.
This opening reminds us that worship is fundamentally relational. God did not redeem a people merely to rescue them from judgment, but to bring them into fellowship with Himself. Humanity was created to bear God’s image, to dwell in His presence, and to reflect His glory throughout creation. Sin shattered that fellowship, but Christ restores it. Worship is therefore not merely something Christians do; it is the restored expression of what redeemed humanity was created to be. As we behold His glory, we are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). Praise is both the privilege and the destiny of those who belong to Christ.
Do I view worship as an event I attend or the purpose for which I was created? Does my daily life increasingly reflect the glory of the One who redeemed me? Is my praise rooted in God’s unchanging character or merely in favorable circumstances? Do I abide in Him continually as a branch connected to the Vine?
Psalm 135:5-14 — For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps…. He it was… who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings… Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages. For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
The psalmist now celebrates God’s absolute sovereignty. The Lord alone governs heaven and earth. Winds, clouds, rain, kingdoms, rulers, history itself — all move according to His sovereign purpose. Unlike the pagan gods imagined by the surrounding nations, the God of Israel is neither limited nor dependent. He does whatever pleases Him because His will is infinitely wise, righteous, and good.
God’s mighty acts in Egypt and Canaan remind Israel that history itself bears witness to His lordship. The Exodus was never merely Israel’s national story; it was God’s revelation of Himself to the world. Every plague, every miracle, every victory declared that there is no God besides the LORD. These mighty works ultimately anticipate an even greater deliverance accomplished through Jesus Christ. The Exodus delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. The cross delivers sinners from the far greater bondage of sin, death, and Satan. The resurrection becomes the new Exodus, inaugurating the kingdom that will never end.
The Lord’s sovereignty also gives profound comfort to His people. The same God who governs nations governs every detail of His children’s lives. Nothing falls outside His providence — not prosperity, adversity, persecution, nor suffering. Throughout Jeremiah we have repeatedly seen that what appears to be judgment often becomes God’s instrument of redemption for those who belong to Him. Because God reigns absolutely, believers can trust Him completely. Romans 8:28 rests entirely upon this reality. God works all things together for good because all things remain under His sovereign authority.
The psalmist concludes this section by affirming that the Lord “will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.” God’s sovereignty never makes Him distant or indifferent. His infinite power is joined perfectly with His covenant love. He knows every sorrow, every injustice, every temptation, and every burden carried by His people. Jesus embodies this perfect union of sovereign authority and compassionate mercy. The One who calmed the sea also wept at Lazarus’ tomb. The King of kings washed His disciples’ feet. The Judge of all the earth laid down His own life for His enemies. His sovereign reign is therefore never frightening to those who know His heart.
The union of God’s absolute sovereignty and His perfect love changes everything. If God were all-powerful but not perfectly good, we would have every reason to fear Him. If He were perfectly loving but lacked sovereign authority, we could never be certain He could fulfill His promises. But Scripture reveals a God who is both infinitely sovereign and infinitely good. Nothing can thwart His will, and everything He wills flows from His perfect wisdom, righteousness, and love. This becomes the bedrock upon which every promise of God rests and the unshakable confidence of every believer. Paul therefore asks, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). The cross forever settles the question of God’s heart. If the Father has already given His greatest treasure to redeem us, there is no circumstance in which we should doubt either His love or His commitment to our ultimate good.
This was precisely the issue at the heart of humanity’s first temptation. Satan did not begin by denying God’s existence; he questioned God’s character. He suggested that God was withholding something good, that His commands could not be trusted, and that Adam and Eve would be better judges of good and evil than their Creator. Every sin since then has followed the same pattern. Whenever we choose sin, we are functionally declaring that God is not providing everything necessary for our joy, security, satisfaction, or flourishing. We assume life will be better if we take matters into our own hands. In this sense, every temptation ultimately asks the same question: Is God truly trustworthy?
The Christian life begins to change as our minds are renewed to honor God as God (Romans 1:21; 12:2). Faith is not merely believing that God exists but seeing Him as He truly is — the perfectly sovereign, perfectly loving Father revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus continually invited His disciples to live from this confidence. “Look at the birds of the air…. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26). “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?… If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11). Our heavenly Father is never less loving than the best earthly father, nor is He ever limited in His ability to accomplish what is best for His children.
When these truths move from doctrine to conviction, obedience is transformed. We no longer obey primarily because we fear consequences, but because we trust the One who commands us. Worship becomes joyful rather than obligatory. Gratitude replaces anxiety. Contentment overcomes covetousness. Even suffering can be received with hope because we know it has passed through the hands of a Father who loves us infinitely and rules over all things perfectly. This is the confidence that enabled Christ to entrust Himself to the Father in Gethsemane, to embrace the cross for the joy set before Him, and to teach His disciples to pray, “Your will be done.” The more clearly we see the Father’s sovereign love displayed in the face of Jesus Christ, the more natural wholehearted trust, worship, and obedience become. This is the essence of abiding in Christ and the foundation of the transformed life.
Do I trust God’s providence when I cannot understand His purposes? Does His sovereignty and love give me confidence over anxiety? Am I learning to interpret every circumstance through the character of the God who reigns over all things?
Psalm 135:15-21 — The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see…. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them…. Bless the LORD, O house of Israel… Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!
The psalm concludes by contrasting the living God with lifeless idols. Idols possess every outward appearance of life yet remain utterly powerless. They cannot speak, hear, see, think, love, rescue, or transform. More sobering still is the psalmist’s observation that those who worship idols become like them. Worship is always transformative. We inevitably become like whatever captures our highest affection and trust.
This principle extends far beyond carved images. Modern idols may be wealth, success, politics, comfort, relationships, reputation, technology, or even ministry itself. Anything we trust, fear, pursue, or love more than God gradually shapes our character. Idols promise freedom but always produce slavery because they can never satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. Only the Creator can satisfy the creatures He has made.
By contrast, those who worship the living God are transformed into His likeness. This is one of the Bible’s great themes. Humanity was originally created to bear God’s image. Sin distorted that image, causing people increasingly to resemble the fallen world they worshiped instead of their Creator. Through union with Christ, however, God restores His image within His people. As believers behold Christ by faith, the Holy Spirit progressively conforms them to His likeness (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). Worship is therefore not merely giving God what He deserves; it is God’s appointed means of transforming His children into the people He created them to be.
The psalm closes where it began — with praise. The proper response to seeing the greatness of God and the emptiness of every rival is wholehearted worship. Christ Himself is now the true temple, the true High Priest, and the One in whom God dwells among His people (John 2:19-21). United to Him, believers themselves become living stones being built into God’s spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-5). Christ is both the cornerstone and the capstone of this living temple, and His people together become the dwelling place of God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22). Individually and corporately, the Church exists to display His glory before the world, fulfilling Jesus’ prayer that His people would be perfectly one so that the world may believe the Father sent Him (John 17:21-23). Our lives therefore become continual worship — not merely in gathered assemblies, but in every moment lived in joyful fellowship with Christ. Worship is oneness with Him, our lives lived as He would live them, motivated by hearts which are united with His heart, our thoughts and desires increasingly mirroring His.
– Galatians 2:20 — I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
– Romans 12:1 — I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Jeremiah 25:1-7 — The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah… which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “For twenty-three years… I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened…. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets…. Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD….”
Jeremiah pauses to look back over more than two decades of faithful ministry. For twenty-three years he had proclaimed the Word of God with remarkable perseverance, yet outwardly he appeared to have little success. The nation remained hardened, the leaders remained rebellious, and the people largely ignored God’s repeated calls to repentance. By human standards, Jeremiah’s ministry might have been judged a failure. Heaven, however, measures faithfulness very differently than earth. God had not called Jeremiah to produce repentance but to faithfully proclaim His Word. The results belonged to God alone.
The repeated phrase, “I have spoken persistently,” reveals something far deeper than Jeremiah’s perseverance. It reveals the heart of God Himself. Long before judgment fell, the Lord patiently pursued His people. He repeatedly sent prophet after prophet, warning, pleading, inviting, and calling them to return. Judgment was never His first desire. His repeated appeals demonstrate His extraordinary longsuffering. Peter later explains the same divine patience: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise… but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God’s delays are not signs of indifference but expressions of mercy.
This passage also exposes the true nature of unbelief. The issue was never lack of information. Judah possessed God’s Law, His prophets, His covenant, His temple, and centuries of His mighty works. Their problem was not intellectual ignorance but moral resistance. They “would not listen.” Throughout Jeremiah, listening means far more than hearing words. It means receiving God’s Word with humility, trusting His character, and responding in obedient faith. As Jesus repeatedly declared, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The deepest obstacle to hearing God is never His unwillingness to speak but our unwillingness to surrender.
This same pattern continues throughout redemptive history. Jesus came as the final and fullest revelation of the Father, yet many who heard Him still refused to believe. Their rejection did not arise from insufficient evidence but from hearts unwilling to come into the light (John 3:19-21). The Holy Spirit continues to speak today through the written Word, calling sinners to Christ and believers into ever-deeper conformity to Him. Every encounter with Scripture therefore becomes more than an opportunity to gain knowledge; it is an invitation to respond to the living God.
Union with Christ transforms the way believers read passages like this. We are reminded that God’s patience toward others mirrors the patience He first showed us. None of us came to Christ because we sought Him first. He pursued us long before we desired Him. Therefore, as His ambassadors, we are called to reflect that same longsuffering toward others. We faithfully proclaim the gospel, love patiently, pray earnestly, and leave the results in God’s hands. Like Jeremiah, success is measured not by visible outcomes but by faithful obedience.
Do I measure faithfulness by visible results or by obedience to God’s calling? Am I merely hearing God’s Word, or am I allowing it to reshape my life? Does my patience with others reflect the extraordinary patience God has shown toward me?
Jeremiah 25:8-14 — “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north… and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land… This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation… for their iniquity….”
After twenty-three years of rejected mercy, judgment finally arrives. Yet even here God’s sovereignty shines brilliantly. Babylon is not acting independently but as God’s instrument. The Lord even calls Nebuchadnezzar “my servant”, not because the Babylonian king knows or worships Him, but because God sovereignly directs even pagan rulers to accomplish His purposes. Throughout Scripture, history never unfolds according to human power alone. Kings, nations, wars, and empires ultimately serve the sovereign purposes of God, whether they acknowledge Him or not. As Proverbs declares, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1).
The prophecy of seventy years also reveals that God’s judgment is never arbitrary. He establishes both its beginning and its end. Even discipline remains under His perfect control. Babylon would not rule one year longer than God ordained. The same sovereign hand that appointed Judah’s chastening also appointed her restoration. This demonstrates one of Jeremiah’s central themes: God’s discipline is always purposeful. He wounds in order to heal. He tears down in order to build up. His ultimate goal is never destruction for its own sake but the restoration of a people who truly know Him.
Equally remarkable is God’s promise that Babylon itself will eventually be judged. Though God uses the empire as His instrument, He does not excuse its pride, violence, or wicked motives. Divine sovereignty never removes human responsibility. Nebuchadnezzar freely pursued his own ambitions and remains fully accountable for them. Scripture consistently holds these truths together without contradiction: God ordains history according to His perfect will, yet human beings remain morally responsible for the choices they willingly make. At the cross, these realities meet perfectly. Wicked men freely crucified Jesus, yet they accomplished “whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27-28). The greatest act of evil became the means of the world’s redemption.
For believers, this passage offers profound assurance. If God governs empires, He certainly governs every detail of our lives. Nothing reaches us apart from His fatherly hand. Trials are never random, persecution is never purposeless, and suffering never escapes His providence. Romans 8:28 rests upon this very foundation. God is continually weaving together events that we cannot yet understand in order to accomplish His ultimate purpose—that we might be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Faith therefore learns not merely to endure God’s providence but to embrace it, trusting that the Father’s wisdom always exceeds our own.
This passage also points to the greater judgment and restoration accomplished through Jesus Christ. Judah’s seventy-year exile anticipated humanity’s deeper exile from God because of sin. Christ entered that exile on our behalf, bearing the covenant curse we deserved. Through His resurrection He inaugurates the final restoration, gathering His people into an everlasting kingdom where exile, judgment, and death will never again separate us from the presence of God. The God who faithfully fulfilled His promise to restore Judah has likewise guaranteed every promise made to those who are in Christ.
Do I trust God’s sovereignty only when I understand His purposes, or even when I cannot? Am I resisting His discipline or receiving it as the wise work of my heavenly Father? Does my confidence rest in changing circumstances or in the unchanging God who rules over every circumstance?
Jeremiah 25:15-29 — Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it…. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them….” So I took the cup from the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it…. “If they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! For behold, if I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished….’”
The focus of Jeremiah’s prophecy now expands beyond Judah to encompass every nation. The cup of wine becomes a powerful picture of God’s righteous judgment. Throughout Scripture, the cup symbolizes what God appoints for someone to receive. Sometimes it is a cup of blessing overflowing with His goodness (Psalm 23:5); here it is the cup of His holy wrath against persistent rebellion. Every nation, regardless of its power, culture, military strength, or religious tradition, must ultimately answer to the Lord who rules over all the earth. Israel’s covenant relationship never exempted her from judgment, and neither would the surrounding nations escape His justice.
This vision dismantles one of humanity’s oldest illusions — that we are autonomous. Nations speak as though they determine their own destiny, rulers imagine themselves sovereign, and individuals often live as though they alone direct their lives. Yet Jeremiah reminds us that history unfolds under the authority of the King of kings. God sends Jeremiah with the cup because the nations do not stand above His jurisdiction. Every government, civilization, economy, and empire ultimately exists within the boundaries established by the Creator. Human authority is always delegated authority and remains accountable to Him.
The cup also exposes the impartiality of God’s justice. Judgment begins with Jerusalem, “the city that is called by my name.” Covenant privilege did not shield Judah from accountability; rather, it increased her responsibility. Peter later echoes this principle: “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Those who receive greater light are accountable for how they respond to it. God’s people therefore should never presume upon His grace. His covenant love never minimizes His holiness. Precisely because He loves His people, He disciplines them when they wander.
At the same time, Jeremiah’s cup anticipates one of the most profound moments in the Gospel. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). The cup before Christ was the very cup of divine wrath that sinners deserved. Unlike the nations in Jeremiah’s vision, Jesus had committed no sin. Yet in perfect obedience and love, He willingly drank the cup completely so that all who trust in Him would instead receive the cup of salvation. At the Last Supper He transformed the symbol, declaring, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). The cup of wrath becomes, through His sacrifice, the cup of grace for everyone united to Him.
This reveals the astonishing heart of God. Justice is never ignored; it is fully satisfied. The only question is where that judgment falls. Those who remain in rebellion will one day drink the cup themselves. Those who repent and believe find that Christ has already drained it in their place. The gospel therefore magnifies both God’s holiness and His love. At the cross, justice and mercy embrace without compromising either.
Believers must also recognize that this same Christ calls us to share His heart for the nations. Jeremiah carried the cup of warning because God desired repentance before judgment. Likewise, the Church has been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). We proclaim both the reality of coming judgment and the gracious invitation to receive Christ before that day arrives. God’s warnings are not contrary to His love; they are among its clearest expressions.
Do I live with the awareness that every person will one day stand before Christ? Have I truly embraced the Savior who drank the cup of wrath in my place? Does my heart reflect God’s compassion by urgently calling others to be reconciled to Him?
Jeremiah 25:30-38 — “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold… He will enter into judgment with all flesh, and the wicked he will put to the sword, declares the LORD…. Behold, disaster is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth….’”
The chapter concludes with one of Jeremiah’s most sweeping visions of God’s universal judgment. The God who once spoke quietly through His prophets now raises His voice like a lion roaring over His prey. Throughout Scripture, the lion’s roar signifies irresistible authority and inescapable judgment (Amos 3:8; Hosea 11:10). The Lord has patiently appealed to His people for generations, but the day finally arrives when His verdict is announced. The Judge of all the earth does not act impulsively or unjustly. His judgment comes only after extraordinary patience, repeated warnings, and countless invitations to repent.
Remarkably, the roar begins “against his fold.” God’s own covenant people are judged first because they possessed the greatest revelation and therefore bore the greatest responsibility. Yet the judgment does not remain there. It extends “to all the inhabitants of the earth.” Jeremiah again reminds us that the Lord is not merely Israel’s God but the sovereign King of every nation. No empire, ruler, or civilization exists outside His authority. Every kingdom built upon pride, injustice, idolatry, and rebellion will ultimately answer before His throne.
The worldwide scope of this judgment points beyond Babylon to the final Day of the Lord. Jeremiah’s prophecy becomes a preview of the universal judgment described throughout the New Testament. Jesus Himself declared that the Father “has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). The One who first came in humility to bear sin will return in glory to judge it. Revelation likewise portrays Christ as the righteous King before whom every nation will stand. History is therefore moving toward neither chaos nor endless cycles but toward the visible reign of Jesus Christ, when every wrong will be made right and every enemy of God will be finally subdued.
Yet this final vision must always be read through the lens of the Gospel. The Judge who roars is the same Savior who once wept over Jerusalem. Before announcing judgment, He repeatedly invited sinners to come to Him. Before He comes to judge the world, He first came to bear the world’s judgment upon Himself. God’s justice is never separated from His love. Throughout Jeremiah we have repeatedly seen that every warning was itself an act of mercy because it invited repentance while there was still time. The cross stands as history’s greatest demonstration that God desires reconciliation before condemnation. Those who reject Christ will one day face Him as Judge; those who trust Him already know Him as Savior.
This chapter also reshapes the believer’s perspective on the world. Christians need not fear the apparent rise and fall of nations because history remains firmly in the hands of God. Political powers change, cultures rise and decline, and empires come and go, but Christ continues to reign. Our hope therefore rests not in preserving earthly kingdoms but in advancing the kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28). We are ambassadors of that kingdom, proclaiming reconciliation while the door of grace remains open. The certainty of coming judgment should never produce pride or self-righteousness but urgency, compassion, and faithful witness. Every person we meet is an eternal soul whom God lovingly calls to repentance through the Gospel.
Jeremiah 25 therefore gathers together many of the themes that have shaped the entire book. God is sovereign over history. His patience is astonishing. His warnings are merciful. His judgment is certain. His discipline aims at restoration for those who humble themselves before Him. Above all, His purposes ultimately center upon Jesus Christ, through whom justice is satisfied, mercy is offered, and sinners are reconciled to the Father. The question confronting every reader is no longer whether judgment is coming, but whether we have fled to the One who has already borne that judgment in our place. Those who abide in Christ need not fear the Day of the Lord, for the Judge is also their Redeemer, Shepherd, and King.
Do I live with the eternal perspective that Christ will one day judge every nation and every life? Does the certainty of His return produce fear, complacency, or joyful confidence? Am I using the time God has given me to faithfully proclaim the Gospel while His gracious invitation to repentance still stands?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 2 August 2026: Choose one person who does not yet know Christ, or whose walk with Him has grown cold. Spend time today praying specifically for that person by name, then intentionally reach out with an act of genuine love and an opportunity to speak of Christ. Let the certainty of God’s coming kingdom produce compassionate urgency rather than passive concern.
Pray: “Father, we praise You because You alone are the sovereign King over every nation, every ruler, and every moment of history. Thank You that Your patience toward sinners has been so great, and thank You that Your Son willingly drank the cup of judgment that we deserved. Give us hearts that know You, trust You, and delight to obey You. Keep us from placing our confidence in earthly kingdoms, and fix our hope upon the unshakable reign of Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit so that we faithfully proclaim Your Gospel, lovingly call others to repentance, and increasingly reflect the character of our Savior until the day He returns in glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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