Psalm 18: 24-27 "24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. 27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light." NIV
This portion of Psalm 18 is a celebration of the Lord’s character and consistency. Again David is reflecting on the reward of God and its connection to his own cleanness. David gives us an insight into the ways of God with this psalm of praise. God responds to each one in the same manner to which they respond to him and to others. The principle of reaping and sowing is evident in this reflection of God’s character. The good news is that even in this context there is mercy! David identifies God’s affection for the humble. An enlarged view of this principle can be seen in Jesus’ dealings with the Pharisees and the woman caught in adultery. In the legalistic view of God this woman deserved punishment but her humble heart brought the mercy of God. Yet to the Pharisees Jesus was regularly pronouncing woes on their unmerciful and critical spirits.
God saves the Humble, not the perfect! David’s entire life is a revelation of this principle. He experiences a multitude of victories and a long list of failures that include such things as murder, adultery, lying, not trusting God for seasons of his life and yet his humble submission without justifying his sins caused him to be called a man after God’s own heart. King Saul demonstrated an opposite heart response to God.
In his moments of failure he didn't respond with brokenness and humility but rather excuses, blame and when he did cry out to God it was for a reversal of judgment not a change of heart.
An additional insight from this portion of this psalm is David praising God for keeping his lamp burning. David knows the source of his passion in life. He is thankful to God that it is God’s very help that enables him to live with a burning heart. In the big picture of his life David lived as a man on fire with love for God and this passage reveals that he knew the source of the fire that burned inside of him. There is a well known statement that says, “It takes God, to love God!” Jesus said that no one can know that things of the Spirit unless the Holy Spirit reveals them to him. David is reflecting this concept when he rejoices that God has turned his darkness into light. Each one of us can share in this hope of living with a burning heart. May the God of all glory and grace take the dark places of our doubts, fears, unbelief and pain and turn them into the light of his abundant presence and peace.
Friday
Psalm 18:20-23 February 20, 2009
Psalm 18:20-23 "20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;I have not done evil by turning from my God. 22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. 23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. " NIV
As David continues to celebrate the breakthrough that he has experienced in his circumstances he is reflecting on the connection between God’s dealings and his ways. David had a tremendous understanding that even though there is grace and mercy that flows to us in how God deals with us we still have a measure to which God’s reward is commensurate to our lifestyle. “According to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.” David placed a significant amount of focus on the works of our hands. In Ps. 24 David exalts the blessing that comes upon those with clean hands and a pure heart. In this psalm he is applying this principle personally. "My hands are clean and therefore God has delivered me." One of David greatest personal characteristics is that he lived before God in a conscious awareness of his own heart condition. He was faithful to cry out for the Lord to examine him and even though he had some times of personal failure and weakness he was constantly reaching turning back to the Lord to be made right with him.
In this passage David identifies a major point of testing that each one of us faces when we are in similar trying times in our lives. David could have used his trials as an opportunity to justify sin in either his actions or in his attitudes yet he remains firm in his convictions. He announces “I have kept the ways of the Lord… I have not turned from God… I have not turned from his decrees." In his pain David would have had many opportunities to complain about the Lord’s dealings with him and man’s treatment of him yet like Job David holds firmly to a faith filled testimony. David could have responded to his trials the way that Job’s wife did. She exhorted Job to “curse God and die” and in fact that is what many people choose to do in the midst of their struggles. David demonstrates a heart that is holding fast to its confession of faith that God is good and will reward those who stay pure in the midst of hardships.
It is evident in David’s words that in the midst of his storm he was still very conscious of his own actions. He is not merely reflecting on the past as if he were analyzing some of his behaviors that occurred subconsciously or as a reflex action in response to his circumstances. Even in the midst of such a painful season David made a choice! He says, “I have… kept myself from sin.” David didn’t use his circumstances as an excuse to become careless. He maintained a personal discipline and a personal standard of self control “he kept himself!” No one had to do it for him or make excuses for him. David was focused on the Lord and on his own personal standards of character and would not be moved from his principles even when it would have been easier to take seek carnal forms of comfort and blame it on others.
As David continues to celebrate the breakthrough that he has experienced in his circumstances he is reflecting on the connection between God’s dealings and his ways. David had a tremendous understanding that even though there is grace and mercy that flows to us in how God deals with us we still have a measure to which God’s reward is commensurate to our lifestyle. “According to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.” David placed a significant amount of focus on the works of our hands. In Ps. 24 David exalts the blessing that comes upon those with clean hands and a pure heart. In this psalm he is applying this principle personally. "My hands are clean and therefore God has delivered me." One of David greatest personal characteristics is that he lived before God in a conscious awareness of his own heart condition. He was faithful to cry out for the Lord to examine him and even though he had some times of personal failure and weakness he was constantly reaching turning back to the Lord to be made right with him.
In this passage David identifies a major point of testing that each one of us faces when we are in similar trying times in our lives. David could have used his trials as an opportunity to justify sin in either his actions or in his attitudes yet he remains firm in his convictions. He announces “I have kept the ways of the Lord… I have not turned from God… I have not turned from his decrees." In his pain David would have had many opportunities to complain about the Lord’s dealings with him and man’s treatment of him yet like Job David holds firmly to a faith filled testimony. David could have responded to his trials the way that Job’s wife did. She exhorted Job to “curse God and die” and in fact that is what many people choose to do in the midst of their struggles. David demonstrates a heart that is holding fast to its confession of faith that God is good and will reward those who stay pure in the midst of hardships.
It is evident in David’s words that in the midst of his storm he was still very conscious of his own actions. He is not merely reflecting on the past as if he were analyzing some of his behaviors that occurred subconsciously or as a reflex action in response to his circumstances. Even in the midst of such a painful season David made a choice! He says, “I have… kept myself from sin.” David didn’t use his circumstances as an excuse to become careless. He maintained a personal discipline and a personal standard of self control “he kept himself!” No one had to do it for him or make excuses for him. David was focused on the Lord and on his own personal standards of character and would not be moved from his principles even when it would have been easier to take seek carnal forms of comfort and blame it on others.
Thursday
Psalm 18:17-19 February 19, 2009
Psalm 18 "17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." NIV
David is celebrating the Lord’s divine intervention. He is able to recognize that it is the Lord who has rescued him. He is not praising his own brilliance. He is not celebrating his own strength and skills. David is faithful to acknowledge that the troubles he was facing were too strong for him and that it was only God who was able to give him the victory. This foundation of humility is one of David’s key values that keep his heart in a place that brings pleasure to God. David declares “the Lord was my support!” This announcement of dependence brings to mind the passage in the Song of Solomon where the bride is coming out of the wilderness leaning on her beloved.
Each one of us has a need to come to the place of leaning upon the Lord instead of our own strength. The beloved one of Song of Solomon has been in the wilderness, much like David through his trying time, and she comes out of that season leaning on her lover. This process is one of God’s ways that we must all embrace. God, in his wisdom, allows us to go through times and seasons that are like the wilderness experience of David. In most cases we enter those seasons with a sense of self-assurance and independence. The Lord in his great love brings us to the place where we must recognize our need and learn to lean upon him and adopt a heart of dependence instead of relying on our own abilities. David learns a valuable lesson of trust that can never be taken away because it is a lesson learned from experience not theoretical analysis.
The good news is that the wilderness season does not last forever. It is for a time and for a purpose! David now has a testimony of God’s keeping power and he is able to recognize the goodness of God that was there for him at the end of the journey. David’s testimony is “He brought me out into a spacious place.” The spacious place is a picture of the abundance and freedom that he has found after the Lord’s dealings are complete. During his time of trial David’s life felt very confined and hemmed in by the pressures surrounding him. Usually when we are in the difficult seasons we feel as if all of our options have been taken away and we have no room to choose our path. David is able to see the goodness of God that has carried him through to this new season of abundance. This new season is also accompanied by one of the most valuable revelations that David has ever embraced. In his joy at over the victory and breakthrough that has finally come David declares confidently, “He rescued me because he delighted in me.” After all of this season of struggle is over David is still able to see himself as God’s delight! What a tremendous understanding it is to know that walking through the seasons of hardship does not imply that God no longer loves us. David is confident in God’s love for him even after having walked through such a dark valley in his life. “Lord give us this same revelation of the Love of God!”
David is celebrating the Lord’s divine intervention. He is able to recognize that it is the Lord who has rescued him. He is not praising his own brilliance. He is not celebrating his own strength and skills. David is faithful to acknowledge that the troubles he was facing were too strong for him and that it was only God who was able to give him the victory. This foundation of humility is one of David’s key values that keep his heart in a place that brings pleasure to God. David declares “the Lord was my support!” This announcement of dependence brings to mind the passage in the Song of Solomon where the bride is coming out of the wilderness leaning on her beloved.
Each one of us has a need to come to the place of leaning upon the Lord instead of our own strength. The beloved one of Song of Solomon has been in the wilderness, much like David through his trying time, and she comes out of that season leaning on her lover. This process is one of God’s ways that we must all embrace. God, in his wisdom, allows us to go through times and seasons that are like the wilderness experience of David. In most cases we enter those seasons with a sense of self-assurance and independence. The Lord in his great love brings us to the place where we must recognize our need and learn to lean upon him and adopt a heart of dependence instead of relying on our own abilities. David learns a valuable lesson of trust that can never be taken away because it is a lesson learned from experience not theoretical analysis.
The good news is that the wilderness season does not last forever. It is for a time and for a purpose! David now has a testimony of God’s keeping power and he is able to recognize the goodness of God that was there for him at the end of the journey. David’s testimony is “He brought me out into a spacious place.” The spacious place is a picture of the abundance and freedom that he has found after the Lord’s dealings are complete. During his time of trial David’s life felt very confined and hemmed in by the pressures surrounding him. Usually when we are in the difficult seasons we feel as if all of our options have been taken away and we have no room to choose our path. David is able to see the goodness of God that has carried him through to this new season of abundance. This new season is also accompanied by one of the most valuable revelations that David has ever embraced. In his joy at over the victory and breakthrough that has finally come David declares confidently, “He rescued me because he delighted in me.” After all of this season of struggle is over David is still able to see himself as God’s delight! What a tremendous understanding it is to know that walking through the seasons of hardship does not imply that God no longer loves us. David is confident in God’s love for him even after having walked through such a dark valley in his life. “Lord give us this same revelation of the Love of God!”
Wednesday
Psalm 18:7 - February 18, 2009
Ps.18:7-16 "The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him — the dark rain clouds of the sky. 12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. 13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 14 He shot his arrows and scattered [the enemies], great bolts of lightning and routed them. 15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters." NIV
David paints an awesome image in this passage of the glorious intervention of God in the midst of troubles. The images that are portrayed in this passage are so clear and vivid that I believe they must have originated in a mystical experience that David received during his time of trouble. God is faithful in the midst of our pain to unveil the invisible realms to those who will seek him and impart strength through a foretaste of those realities that are most often only perceived by eyes of faith. The prophet Elisha demonstrated this same principle in II Ki. 6 when he was on the mountain top with his servant, surrounded by an enemy army. His servant is beginning to crumble from stress and fear but Elisha is not moved. Instead Elisha speaks from a heart of faith and declares, “don’t be afraid… Those who are with us are more than those who are against us.” He then directs his faith to intercession for his servant: “Lord open his eyes that he might see!” Then in an act of divine intervention the servant is able to see that the hills are full of the army of the Lord there to deliver them.
“Oh, that we might live with open eyes! Lord let us see the vast supply that you have already released into our circumstances. Give us the revelation of your glorious intervention in our every need!” I believe that in David’s time of need God elevated his vision into the realms of glory so that he could find comfort from this image of God’s anger over the attacks that were coming against him. The powerful principle that is revealed in this passage is not just the acts of God to deliver David from injustice but the emotion of God as he expresses his concern over the mistreatment that is afflicting David in this circumstance. It is comforting to know that not only is God involved, working everything out for our good as Ro. 8:28 teaches us, God is also deeply concerned, even grieved over the trials that have touched us and the unjust treatment that comes our way at times. God is both perfectly just, and perfectly loving and these two attributes are manifest in perfect balance in his dealings with us.
This portion of scripture ends with a wonderful image of the comfort of God! “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters!” Do you feel at times that you are in deep waters and you are too tired to swim? Know that in your hour of need God is reaching down from on high to take hold of you. Consider this reality even now for a moment. Picture the hand of God reaching out to you and find comfort in the knowledge that God will draw you out of the deep waters of your stress and circumstances and will hold you fast to himself. Take the time to wait in his presence until the eyes of your faith have been opened and your heart is strengthened by the remembrance that all provision has already been made for every need you will ever face!
David paints an awesome image in this passage of the glorious intervention of God in the midst of troubles. The images that are portrayed in this passage are so clear and vivid that I believe they must have originated in a mystical experience that David received during his time of trouble. God is faithful in the midst of our pain to unveil the invisible realms to those who will seek him and impart strength through a foretaste of those realities that are most often only perceived by eyes of faith. The prophet Elisha demonstrated this same principle in II Ki. 6 when he was on the mountain top with his servant, surrounded by an enemy army. His servant is beginning to crumble from stress and fear but Elisha is not moved. Instead Elisha speaks from a heart of faith and declares, “don’t be afraid… Those who are with us are more than those who are against us.” He then directs his faith to intercession for his servant: “Lord open his eyes that he might see!” Then in an act of divine intervention the servant is able to see that the hills are full of the army of the Lord there to deliver them.
“Oh, that we might live with open eyes! Lord let us see the vast supply that you have already released into our circumstances. Give us the revelation of your glorious intervention in our every need!” I believe that in David’s time of need God elevated his vision into the realms of glory so that he could find comfort from this image of God’s anger over the attacks that were coming against him. The powerful principle that is revealed in this passage is not just the acts of God to deliver David from injustice but the emotion of God as he expresses his concern over the mistreatment that is afflicting David in this circumstance. It is comforting to know that not only is God involved, working everything out for our good as Ro. 8:28 teaches us, God is also deeply concerned, even grieved over the trials that have touched us and the unjust treatment that comes our way at times. God is both perfectly just, and perfectly loving and these two attributes are manifest in perfect balance in his dealings with us.
This portion of scripture ends with a wonderful image of the comfort of God! “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters!” Do you feel at times that you are in deep waters and you are too tired to swim? Know that in your hour of need God is reaching down from on high to take hold of you. Consider this reality even now for a moment. Picture the hand of God reaching out to you and find comfort in the knowledge that God will draw you out of the deep waters of your stress and circumstances and will hold you fast to himself. Take the time to wait in his presence until the eyes of your faith have been opened and your heart is strengthened by the remembrance that all provision has already been made for every need you will ever face!
Tuesday
Psalm 18:3-6 - February 17, 2009
Ps. 18:3 “I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. " NIV
Even in the midst of a trial so fierce that his very life was threatened David’s eyes are fixed on the Lord. In his pain David sees the “cords of death” entangling him. He feels the torrents of destruction so intensely that it is overwhelming to him. And yet David’s focus is on “the Lord, who is worthy of praise!” This is a victorious heart. In the midst of our troubles, too often we fix our gaze upon the troubles themselves. The larger we allow the image of our troubles to become in our minds, the more overwhelming they become in our emotions. David is able to conquer the voice of his distressful circumstances by anchoring his thoughts on the majesty of God. In the following verses David exalts the majesty and power of the Lord who delivers us from all of our troubles.
It is important to see the nature of David’s praise. David is not in denial of his circumstances. He uses such strong language to express the feelings that he is wrestling with: “entangled by cords of death”, “overwhelmed by cords of destruction”, “the cords of the grave coiled around him”, “the snares of death encompassing!” David clearly makes a choice during this challenging season in his life. He chooses to focus on the Lord who is greater than all of his feelings. It would have been easy for David to become consumed with the fact that the very man that he had served faithfully was now chasing him, seeking to destroy his life. David was just like us as a man who fought for a right thought life. In Psalm 13:2 he says to the Lord, “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?” It is a battle for him just like it is for each one of us and yet David determines to maintain his focus, his confidence in God and his confession of faith rather than to be consumed with his problems. David displays such an awesome heart of faith here. I called to the Lord and “from his temple he heard my voice.” David has an incredible understanding of the access he has to the presence of God. Even though the veil had not yet been torn David lived in a place of open access and boldness before God. He is the model of He. 4:16, to come “boldly before the throne of grace.” When the kingdom is later established under his rule he opens the way for a new expression of intimacy before the Lord as he constructs a new setting for worship as he creates the new worship structure with the Ark of the Covenant now accessible and the teams of worshippers night and day bringing an offering of praise! It was this season of trial that drove David to a deeper place of intimacy with God and he discovered the intimate presence of God that is available to all those who will lean on him as the source of their life and it was this revelation that inspired him to establish a new model of worship that would change the nature of man’s relationship to God forever. What a forerunner and image of the intimacy made available to us through the finished work that Christ would later complete through his death on the cross.
Even in the midst of a trial so fierce that his very life was threatened David’s eyes are fixed on the Lord. In his pain David sees the “cords of death” entangling him. He feels the torrents of destruction so intensely that it is overwhelming to him. And yet David’s focus is on “the Lord, who is worthy of praise!” This is a victorious heart. In the midst of our troubles, too often we fix our gaze upon the troubles themselves. The larger we allow the image of our troubles to become in our minds, the more overwhelming they become in our emotions. David is able to conquer the voice of his distressful circumstances by anchoring his thoughts on the majesty of God. In the following verses David exalts the majesty and power of the Lord who delivers us from all of our troubles.
It is important to see the nature of David’s praise. David is not in denial of his circumstances. He uses such strong language to express the feelings that he is wrestling with: “entangled by cords of death”, “overwhelmed by cords of destruction”, “the cords of the grave coiled around him”, “the snares of death encompassing!” David clearly makes a choice during this challenging season in his life. He chooses to focus on the Lord who is greater than all of his feelings. It would have been easy for David to become consumed with the fact that the very man that he had served faithfully was now chasing him, seeking to destroy his life. David was just like us as a man who fought for a right thought life. In Psalm 13:2 he says to the Lord, “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?” It is a battle for him just like it is for each one of us and yet David determines to maintain his focus, his confidence in God and his confession of faith rather than to be consumed with his problems. David displays such an awesome heart of faith here. I called to the Lord and “from his temple he heard my voice.” David has an incredible understanding of the access he has to the presence of God. Even though the veil had not yet been torn David lived in a place of open access and boldness before God. He is the model of He. 4:16, to come “boldly before the throne of grace.” When the kingdom is later established under his rule he opens the way for a new expression of intimacy before the Lord as he constructs a new setting for worship as he creates the new worship structure with the Ark of the Covenant now accessible and the teams of worshippers night and day bringing an offering of praise! It was this season of trial that drove David to a deeper place of intimacy with God and he discovered the intimate presence of God that is available to all those who will lean on him as the source of their life and it was this revelation that inspired him to establish a new model of worship that would change the nature of man’s relationship to God forever. What a forerunner and image of the intimacy made available to us through the finished work that Christ would later complete through his death on the cross.
Monday
Psalm 18:1 - February 16, 2009
Ps 18:1 For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
“He said: I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." NIV
This psalm is powerful in its impartation of life to us in a special way because we have the context in which it is written. David had been pursued by his enemies and harassed by a jealous king! He had been running for his life and in the midst of that desperate time David called upon the Lord. He looked to God as his strength and God delivered him. This passage is a declaration of what God has done; a praise for his deliverance from this dark time in David’s life. This next set of devotionals will be a journey through this psalm of deliverance and praise.
David is celebrating the goodness of God for protecting him in the mist of trouble. “I love you Lord, my strength!” What a powerful praise! The simple statements of our heart anchor us. When we praise the Lord it is not the eloquence of our words but the confession of our hearts that manifest true praise! This confession of David’s heart is both a celebration of David’s passion and confidence, and a bold statement of faith to anchor his own convictions. It was David’s habit to war against the voice of his own soul, against the power of discouraging thoughts by his declarations of praise and his confession of the Lord’s goodness and provision. In Ps. 42 David is speaking to his own soul declaring, “Why so downcast Oh, my soul? Put your hope in God!”.
“Lord you are my fortress and my deliverer, my rock in whom I take refuge!” David continues, rejoicing in what God has been to him in the past, and reminding himself of who God will be to him in the future. David knew the hiding place that he had in the Lord. He knew God as his source of safety and the place of refuge that he could run to in times of trouble. “You are my Fortress!” This is faith talking! “You are my deliverer!” David placed his trust in the Lord, not the help of man. In the midst of trouble his eyes were fixed on God. David did not hide in the things that God would do for him. He knew that his hiding place was in God himself! What a revelation of the truth that Paul later declared more clearly in Col 3:3 “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” David’s confidence was in his relationship with God, not in some act that God would perform for him. This is why his foundational statement is one of love for the Lord. He is not looking to God to provide strength. Instead, David is declaring that the Lord himself is David’s strength! This worshipper of God understood that strength flowed out of his intimacy with God. This was again a precursor of what Paul would later pray over the church in Eph 3:16-17 “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Strength for life flows out of encountering the Spirit of God in our inner most being as we grow in our relationship to him!
“He said: I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." NIV
This psalm is powerful in its impartation of life to us in a special way because we have the context in which it is written. David had been pursued by his enemies and harassed by a jealous king! He had been running for his life and in the midst of that desperate time David called upon the Lord. He looked to God as his strength and God delivered him. This passage is a declaration of what God has done; a praise for his deliverance from this dark time in David’s life. This next set of devotionals will be a journey through this psalm of deliverance and praise.
David is celebrating the goodness of God for protecting him in the mist of trouble. “I love you Lord, my strength!” What a powerful praise! The simple statements of our heart anchor us. When we praise the Lord it is not the eloquence of our words but the confession of our hearts that manifest true praise! This confession of David’s heart is both a celebration of David’s passion and confidence, and a bold statement of faith to anchor his own convictions. It was David’s habit to war against the voice of his own soul, against the power of discouraging thoughts by his declarations of praise and his confession of the Lord’s goodness and provision. In Ps. 42 David is speaking to his own soul declaring, “Why so downcast Oh, my soul? Put your hope in God!”.
“Lord you are my fortress and my deliverer, my rock in whom I take refuge!” David continues, rejoicing in what God has been to him in the past, and reminding himself of who God will be to him in the future. David knew the hiding place that he had in the Lord. He knew God as his source of safety and the place of refuge that he could run to in times of trouble. “You are my Fortress!” This is faith talking! “You are my deliverer!” David placed his trust in the Lord, not the help of man. In the midst of trouble his eyes were fixed on God. David did not hide in the things that God would do for him. He knew that his hiding place was in God himself! What a revelation of the truth that Paul later declared more clearly in Col 3:3 “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” David’s confidence was in his relationship with God, not in some act that God would perform for him. This is why his foundational statement is one of love for the Lord. He is not looking to God to provide strength. Instead, David is declaring that the Lord himself is David’s strength! This worshipper of God understood that strength flowed out of his intimacy with God. This was again a precursor of what Paul would later pray over the church in Eph 3:16-17 “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Strength for life flows out of encountering the Spirit of God in our inner most being as we grow in our relationship to him!
Sunday
Psalm 17:14-15 - February 15, 2009
Ps 17:14-15 "You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. 15 And I — in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness." NIV
Satisfied on every level:
Our God is faithful to meet us on every level! He is not one dimensional in his dealings with us, but is all sufficient in his workings on our behalf. The Lord stills the hunger of those he cherishes, but this is not just a physical hunger that we are talking about. Jesus declared a blessing over those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He promised that those who hunger with this kind of hunger will be filled. What are you hungry for today? God will meet you where your hunger is. If your hunger is on the natural level you will find that he responds to you on that level but there is a much deeper level of response available to us from the Lord.
He cherishes us!
The blessing of the Lord is intended to touch both natural and spiritual realms of provision. God wants blessed families! It is God’s intention that his people not live desperate and in a place of lack. This is not to say that there will never be a hard day or a season of need. Rather it is to say that for those who will make the Lord there portion and build our lives on his teachings there is a promise that the overall testimony of our lives will be that not only is our hunger stilled, our children are blessed and we lay up an intergenerational blessing that raises up a testimony of God’s goodness that is ever increasing from one generation to the next. Let us however, not limit this to material wealth that is stored up for our families. To those who build their life upon the Lord there is also a rich history of wisdom and spiritual depth that is imparted from one generation to the next. Our spiritual history in God is to be our greatest wealth and most precious gift to the next generation
The true satisfaction of the Lord and that which David delights in is on his lips in the next phrase. “And I… will see your face: when I awake I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. What a declaration of life! “I will be satisfied!” Is this your boast? And what is the source of his satisfaction? “I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” What are we looking for? Many of us spend our hours in search of what will satisfy, what will fill this empty place inside of us. David has found the key. The true source of satisfaction in this life is encounter with God. He has promised to satisfy your hunger. Today, recognize that what you are really hungry for is God himself. You may be searching in work, family, entertainment, material pleasures or some other outlet but it is God himself who satisfies.
Satisfied on every level:
Our God is faithful to meet us on every level! He is not one dimensional in his dealings with us, but is all sufficient in his workings on our behalf. The Lord stills the hunger of those he cherishes, but this is not just a physical hunger that we are talking about. Jesus declared a blessing over those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He promised that those who hunger with this kind of hunger will be filled. What are you hungry for today? God will meet you where your hunger is. If your hunger is on the natural level you will find that he responds to you on that level but there is a much deeper level of response available to us from the Lord.
He cherishes us!
The blessing of the Lord is intended to touch both natural and spiritual realms of provision. God wants blessed families! It is God’s intention that his people not live desperate and in a place of lack. This is not to say that there will never be a hard day or a season of need. Rather it is to say that for those who will make the Lord there portion and build our lives on his teachings there is a promise that the overall testimony of our lives will be that not only is our hunger stilled, our children are blessed and we lay up an intergenerational blessing that raises up a testimony of God’s goodness that is ever increasing from one generation to the next. Let us however, not limit this to material wealth that is stored up for our families. To those who build their life upon the Lord there is also a rich history of wisdom and spiritual depth that is imparted from one generation to the next. Our spiritual history in God is to be our greatest wealth and most precious gift to the next generation
The true satisfaction of the Lord and that which David delights in is on his lips in the next phrase. “And I… will see your face: when I awake I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. What a declaration of life! “I will be satisfied!” Is this your boast? And what is the source of his satisfaction? “I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” What are we looking for? Many of us spend our hours in search of what will satisfy, what will fill this empty place inside of us. David has found the key. The true source of satisfaction in this life is encounter with God. He has promised to satisfy your hunger. Today, recognize that what you are really hungry for is God himself. You may be searching in work, family, entertainment, material pleasures or some other outlet but it is God himself who satisfies.
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