- I use an exclamation point not because I am enthusiastic right now, but because the statement is so true.
........
In You, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in Your righteousness deliver me!
- It is not because of my goodness or my merit that I am able to take refuge in God; on the contrary--it is because of His mercy and grace.
Incline Your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
- It is not even by my own sinful nature that I desire to run to Him for safety. No, I want to be able to save myself. Realizing that He only is strong enough to save me takes humility that I discover I am missing.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
and for Your name's sake You lead me and guide me;
You take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for You are my refuge.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
- These are words that I don't like. Why? Because I want to be my rock and my fortress. Or I want someone else to be--another human whom I can see, hear, feel. But everyone I have trusted in, including myself, has let me down. Except for God. So why this hesitance?
I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,
because You have seen my affliction;
You have known the distress of my soul,
and You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a broad place.
- And now that I remember the mercy and grace He has shown me in the past, I look back at where He has placed me now, in the present. And I see it in a different way--without tunnel vision. I realize that not only is He holding me up with His righteous right hand, He is the only One Who knows me and understands me. And He didn't just rescue me; He has blessed me. He blesses me.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
- The most difficult hardships are the ones I wreak on myself. I cannot justly blame them on someone else, nor can I justly punish myself. The only way justice can be upheld is if I humble myself before the Lord and surrender to Him.
Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many--
terror on every side!--
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
- I do not fight physical battles with other human beings. My battles are with adversaries that is my flesh, my sinful desires. When my flesh has the upper hand, not even I want to be around myself! This enemy is too strong for me--I cannot destroy it. And this is terrifying.
But I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, "You are my God."
My times are in Your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
Make Your face shine on Your servant;
save me in Your steadfast love!
O Lord, let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon You;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go silently to Sheol.
Let the lying lips be mute,
which speak insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.
- Yes, God is the only One Who has the sufficient power to save me! And not only to save me, but to utterly defeat the enemy!
Oh, how abundant is Your goodness,
which You have stored up for those who fear You
and worked for those who take refuge in You,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
In the cover of Your presence You hide them
from the plots of men;
You store them in Your shelter
from the strife of tongues.
- Protection. Safety. Goodness. Peace. How I yearn for these. And not the knock-off versions. I yearn for God's protection, safety, goodness, and peace. The real deal.
Blessed be the Lord,
for He has wondrously shown His steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
I had said in my alarm,
"I am cut off from Your sight."
But You heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to You for help.
- Again, it is not by my merit. It is by His goodness! By His unfailing love! By His persistence! By His faithfulness! If it were not for these, life would be hell. Literally.
Love the Lord, all you His saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
- It is by Christ's blood that I am forgiven. By His grace that I am saved. I am not loved because of my own merit--it is because His love is so great! Blessed be the Lord. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
Psalm 31, ESV
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