Psalm 91-Abiding

Psalm 91

The Benefits of Abiding

This morning my devotional thoughts turned to Psalm 91.  The human author of the Psalm is unknown; the occasion of writing is likewise unknown.  The entire Psalm enumerates the advantage to seeking refuge in the shelter of  the Almighty --El Shaddai.  The closing three verses  really stood out to me this morning.   The God-dweller will hold fast to Him in love – no fear, but a sense of love because s/he loves God above all. When I hold fast to God in love, I am not so concerned with the outcome of my circumstances; rather, I am consumed  with His glory.  God  makes promises  to this God-dweller

1.       He will protect.  2. He will deliver. 3. He will answer when called. 4. He will sustain in trouble.

       5.   He will rescue.  6. He will honor   7. He will satisfy with a long life.  8. He will enable the dweller  

             to perceive His salvation.  And I believe that this perception of God’s salvation will lead to proclamation.

As I stand  on the cusp of 2016, I will make it my purpose – my plan-- to be a God dweller.  I really want to learn to know El Shaddai  in the coming year. 

Psalm 23 Meditation

Psalm 23

When Life Throws a Curveball

I received devastating news about a friend this morning … before I even opened my Bible. My heart rested in this grand old Psalm.

                The Lord is my Shepherd …that should erase all fear

                I shall not want … this should end my lusting after things God does not want me to have

                He makes me to lie down…this should end all worry

                He leads me in the path of righteousness … this should deter me from sin

                Yea though I walk through the valley… this assures me that God is bigger than anything that that comes into my life… He is greater than my sin, greater than my pain, greater than my feelings

                 Your rod and thy staff they comfort me … this gives me confidence that God will keep me on the right path

                  You prepare a table before me… this assures me of God’s provision

                  Surely goodness and mercy …. this assures me that I have a purpose, because goodness (towb)—that which is for my welfare – in NT lingo – that which makes me more like Jesus and mercy (hesed) … that love that never runs out and never gives up is with me

                    And I will dwell (yashab)—inhabit—this gives me hope, because the relationship and fellowship begun on earth will continue into eternity.

       

                 

                  

Hesed!

Hesed!

Psalm 59

If we know anything about the life of David, we know that many of his early years were spent shepherding thankless sheep or running from a jealous Saul.  In the years spent running from Saul, David often reflected on, clung to, and spoke of the hesed  of God – His loyal love – love that never runs out or gives up. 

The context of Psalm 59 is David’s running from Saul.  In these days, David had nothing to cling to except the hesed of God.   He presents vivid descriptions of his enemies using  graphic analogies, e.g.  howling and prowling like dogs (v. 6,14), swords in their lips (v.7),  dogs wandering about for food and growling when they cannot  eat their fill (v.15). Then in vs. 16, David turns the scene from his rabid enemies to the hesed of God.  He does this despite the fact, the enemies are bearing down.

This hesed moves him to make  three declarations. He will sing of God’s strength. He will sing of God’s hesed.  He will honor God as his strength and place of safety (v. 16-17).

I am at a time in my life when I do not normally face enemies of human nature. Mine are enemies of the heart and mind. Yet no matter how dark the  night, how intense  the pain, how long the way.  The hesed of God is my fortress – my strength—and my reason for praise. 

This is the Day

Psalm 118:22-24

This Is the Day!

This morning in my quiet time, my thoughts were directed to Psalm 118.  We often quote and sing verse 24.  However, this morning I was taken with the triad of verses that it completes.  Verse 22 speaks of a Rejected Stone.  This verse is actually Messianic in its scope.  Christ is the rejected stone.  His entire earthly life was one of rejection.  The word reject actually denotes- despising, loathing, trashing.  The word rejected is a verb and is in the perfect tense, meaning it is an action already accomplished. [1] Isaiah 53 speaks of this despising of Messiah. Peter confirms the identity of the stone as Jesus in Acts 4:11 in the wake of the healing of the man who was lame from birth.  The rejection of Jesus helped pave the way to my being right with God.  Verse 23 speaks of a Redemptive God.  The action of making the rejected stone the chief cornerstone is clearly attributed to the LORD.  The psalmist adds that this action of God is marvelous in our eyes. Marvelous means that we are astounded by this action outside the realm of human capability[2] – God had planned all along to use the rejection of Christ as an occasion to draw us into a relationship with Him. Verse 24 speaks of a Rejoicing Saint.  We are called to rejoice in the day, because of the action of God in the previous verses.  The words rejoice is in the imperfect, indicating that our rejoicing is an ongoing action as we give glory to God.  The reason for our rejoicing is noted in the previous two verses:  One, Jesus is exalted and Two, God has accomplished His purpose.  Therefore I can rejoice in pain; I can rejoice in the face of loss; I can rejoice in any circumstance because of God’s actions on my behalf. Verse 24 is more than a feel good verse that has been popularized by a song.  We rejoice because of Who He is in this day!

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[1] LOGOS software. Exegetical tools..

[2] Ibid