Savoring the Scripture

His Steadfast Love: the bedrock for the believer Psalm 117 He is a God of uncompromising justice, and yet mercy. A God with a backbone of steel, and a warm heart of compassion toward His people “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” His love is not thin, fleeting, or fragile. His love is not impulsive or unreliable. For His people, His heart is tender, gentle, lowly. And with staying power—steadfast and unchanging. David Mathis Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm and shortest chapter in the Bible. The psalmist directs our hearts in praise to God reminding us of the Lord’s steadfast love toward us and His faithfulness that endures forever (117:2). Praise acknowledges the worthiness of the Lord by putting into words, and also song, the truth of His character and how that anchors our soul. My aim in this post is two-fold. I want to look briefly at the definitions of His steadfast love and faithfulness and help us to speak praise to Him for who He is but also for how that truth helps ...

Asking More from our Generous God Psalm 116 The Lord hath dealt bountifully with us, for he hath given us his Son, and in him he hath given us all things: he hath sent us his Spirit, and by him he conveys to us all spiritual blessings...let us come back to him who has treated us with such exceeding kindness. Charles Spurgeon      Psalm 116 begins, “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” He starts with a declaration of love to the Lord in response to the Lord’s answer to his cries for help. The psalmist had been surrounded by the snares of death, distressed and anguished, brought low and greatly afflicted, but the Lord had saved him. Because he had experienced the Lord’s deliverance on his behalf, he said, “therefore I will call on him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:2). His answered prayer worked in his heart to commit to keep coming back to his God. He even saw it as his gift to the Lord. “What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefit...

Prayer for a Quiet and Composed Soul Psalm 115 We set ourselves to believe in the overruling goodness, providence, and sovereignty of God and refuse to turn aside no matter what may come, no matter how we feel. Margaret Clarkson      Psalm 115 calls for Israel to place their confidence and trust in the Lord alone. Repetition in the Scriptures is important, and here in Psalm 115 the psalmist pleads three times in a row, “trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield” (Psalm 115:9-11). Following this repetition of trust, the psalmist tells them, again in a repeated way, that the Lord will bless them (115:12-13). It is believed that this psalm was written for the time of battle. The psalmist gives words of encouragement for those facing their adversaries. His aim is that the Lord receive the glory (15:1). He reminds the people and us that the Lord is the maker of the heavens and earth, and He does as He pleases. Their enemies have gods, but their gods cannot speak, or hear,...

A Prayer of Grace for the Languishing Psalm 114 The Psalms also teach us to live with hope, with hope that the King is coming. Mark Futato, Transformed by Praise Psalm 114 poetically reminds Israel of God’s mighty works on their behalf. The psalmist describes the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, the quaking of Mount Sinai at the presence of the Lord, and God’s provision of water in the wilderness. These miraculous events were evidence of the leading, providing, and shepherding the God of Jacob had performed for His people. But for post-exilic Jews, this was not the end of the story. This reminder of God’s faithfulness would hopefully recall to their minds the words of Jeremiah, “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out ...

The Lord Exalts the Humble Psalm 113 Prayer is a very hard thing to do because it seems like we aren’t doing anything. But it’s also hard because it’s a humble act. We must humble ourselves before God’s mighty hand regularly and cast our cares on Him. Tony Merida       What is humility? Humility is entire dependence upon God for everything, trusting Him through everything, seeing Him as all and ourselves as nothing. It is a right estimation of who God is as well as who we are. Humility is to be humble, having a low estimation of our own importance. It is to be a self-forgetful person (Keller). To no longer be pre-occupied with self, but rather it makes one willing to be the servant or helper of all. Humility seeks only the honor that comes from God and no longer thinks of its honor before men. Jerry Bridges stated humility manifests itself in our relationships to God, to ourselves, and to others.        Humility in our relationship with God will p...