Savoring the Scripture

Will He Keep Me? Psalm 121 His protection is “as refreshing as it is complete. It avails against the known and the unknown; perils of day and night; the most overpowering of forces and the most insidious.” Derek Kidner Have you ever wondered if you will fail the test of faith? Ever wondered if the wilderness road will prove too dry, too harsh, too difficult? If the intense suffering will prove that your faith was no faith at all? That maybe you don’t have what it takes to persevere, to endure with joy, to set your hope in eternal glory? The beginning stanzas of “He Will Hold Me Fast” have been very comforting to me when these kinds of questions arise in my own mind: When I fear my faith will fail Christ will hold me fast When the tempter would prevail He will hold me fast  I could never keep my hold Through life’s fearful pass For my love is often cold He must hold me fast. It is Christ’s grip on me that will keep me. Psalm 121 offers us the same hope.  The psalmist says, “I l...

Deliverance from Lying Lips and a Deceitful Tongue Psalm 120 As the wicked have spoken deceptively, the psalmist, calling on God to judge them, prays that God will bring on them the fulfillment of their own words. VanGemeren Psalm 120 begins the Psalms of Ascent, psalms sung on the journey toward Jerusalem usually for one of the feasts held by the Jewish people. Running through the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120-134, is the theme of faith in the Lord (Futato). These psalms, found in the fifth book of the psalms, were compiled for the Jewish people to sing to strengthen their faith in God’s promises and His rule and reign despite the fact that they no longer had their own king and many were living in distant places. These emphasize living in obedience to the King. This first psalm, in the Psalms of Ascent, expresses the distress the psalmist experiences in the land in which he lives, a land where he lives among those with lying lips, deceitful tongues, and haters of peace. He calls for Go...

A Desperate Cry Psalm 119:169-176 The eucatastrophe in a story is a good catastrophe; it is the surprise twist or turn you never see coming or least expect. Samuel P. Schuldheisz (quoted by Chad Bird) We have reached the final stanza of Psalm 119. Twenty-two stanzas with eight verses in each stanza. The longest chapter in the Bible. The psalmist has sung for a long time, crying for deliverance and setting his hope in God and His Word. It almost feels symbolic of the desperate cries of the suffering, how trials and tribulations not only feel long, but indeed they can last for a very long time, perhaps even a lifetime. It’s the picture of continued steadfastness in the face of adversity. Persevering prayer demonstrated for us. No answer yet? No idea yet what God is doing? No dawn breaking on the horizon? No miraculous answer? Don’t stop praying. Maybe the Lord is building into our lives a psalm-119 kind of perseverance. What are we desperate for this morning? While recognizing the Lord w...