For forty years I led you through the desert … yet your sandals did not wear out." Duet. 29:5
“I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me.”
What recourse would any of us have if the Almighty, the Unchangeable God were evil, and not good? Could we thwart his plans? Could we convince him to change his ways?
But the fact that he is altogether good is indeed something to sing about.
“Therefore, LORD, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.”
If you would live a truthful life in the midst of a lying generation, you must continually pray for wisdom and carefully guard your heart.
“But the LORD is in his holy Temple…He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.”
The LORD is in his holy temple, but that doesn’t mean he is far off or disinterested. Quite to the contrary, he is near and very engaged.
“Arise, O LORD!”
David pleads with the LORD to act, to intervene, to stand up from his throne as it were, and judge the nations.
“What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”
Because there is a God, in one sense there really are no mere mortals. There is no mere anything.
On the other hand, if there were no God, everything would have a mere status, for everything would be meaningless.
“For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.”
There is no problem, no obstacle, no besetting sin, no frustration, no anxiety, no feeling of failure, no change in attitude, no small victory or major accomplishment which the LORD does not fully understand. And He understands because He cares. So pour out your heart, Christian, pour out your heart.
“The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.”
It is enough to know that the LORD has heard my petition. Because he is faithful, he will not ignore it.
How can the LORD hear my petition, as well as the petitions of millions around the world, even offered at the same time?
In the words of a thirteen-year old boy in my Sunday School class, “No one knows. He’s God.”
“For you bless the godly, O LORD; you surround them with your shield of love.”
This is not a platitude. The LORD is my Protector, my Shepherd, the only One who really cares for my soul, in ways that only eternity can fully reveal.
Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”. Let your face smile on us, LORD.
Our present circumstances may be difficult, or they may not be. There are valuable lessons to learn from them regardless. And since the LORD is sovereign over the affairs of men, it is really He who is teaching us. May we be the kind of students that bring a smile to our Teacher’s face.
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying [your threshing floor], for I will not present burnt offerings to the LORD my God that have cost me nothing.”
There is no such thing as a cheap sacrifice.
