This was a long one, but the beauty, oh my! The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock!! What great praise to God acknowledging all that he does for his people. Each time I read this psalm, verse 30 strikes me “As for God, His way is perfect, all the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look for protection.” Indeed. His way is perfect, yet we so often try to go our own way. Why is that? Is there a time recently that you can remember when you did just that? If you’re like me, you can see how God’s way was better.
And his promise are true and plentiful. Reading such truths in God’s word is so delightful, and we can discover new ones each day. For the next week, keep a list of those promises of God that you find.
There were a couple verses in this psalm that troubled me a bit (verses 26-27) where it reads, “wicked you show yourself as hostile” and “you humiliate the proud.” What strikes me is that on the surface the wicked don’t appear phased or afraid, and if they have indeed witnessed a hostile God, what does that look like? Likewise, with the humiliation of the proud. When does this happen? Have you seen it? Perhaps it’s in a time yet to come, and that their here and now somehow allows for them to be ruthless, proud and wicked. God doesn’t interfere now, but in the end, should they continue in this fashion, the consequence shall be realized.
So how does this psalm speak to you today? Ask, “what do I do with this?” For me, I’m going to focus on God’s way for me, and be faithful, full of integrity and pure. Sounds simple, right? Those challenges should and do ignite in me a passion to be the best I can be. I want to search out ways I can encourage others to walk this way as well. The want to shine with the light that God has shined in my life. How can you be a light to those around you today? Who do you think of that needs this light?
Let’s pray. Father God. Thank you for all of your provisions, promises and protection. I feel so safe and loved. Thank you, too, for the strength and guidance you give me. Help me to rely on that and not try to venture out on my own so much. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
ho may enter the dwelling place of God? What a profound question. According to this psalm we must be blameless in several areas, there’s quite a laundry list of requirements. These guidelines represent good standards by which we should be living, and they are certainly attainable. But do we need to be at this level of perfection just to be able to worship? The ability to worship is given to all, I would think, but to truly yearn for the presence of God and to truly acknowledge Him in reverence during our time of worship may be worshiping on two different planes. For the latter, our mindset would probably be more in line with the standards we see in this psalm, because we would want to, strive to be what God wants for us, and it would be a non-issue.
he wicked are taking over! It might feel like that when we pick up the newspaper or read news online and see the atrocities and violence in this world. Innocents dying and suffering in ways humans shouldn’t have to suffer. The psalmist’s image, they “eat up my people like bread”, is an interesting take on what was happening then and is still happening today.
