Savoring the Scripture

The Contented, Quiet Soul Psalm 131  The Lord knows how to order things better than I. I only see things at present, but the Lord sees a great while from now. And how do I know but that had it not been for this affliction, I should have been undone! Jeremiah Burroughs Right before bedtime each night, my youngest daughter and I have snuggle time. We sit in the recliner in her room and sing a song together and then snuggle. It used to be, when she was very little, I would nurse her one last time before bed. But now that she’s older, she no longer even remembers that I nursed her. She no longer frets for what she used to find indispensable (Kinder). She’s content with a few minutes of snuggles before bed (although she usually asks for one more minute). David, in this Psalm, likens the quieting of his own soul to that of a weaned child with its mother (131:2). He, like Paul, has learned in whatever circumstances he is in to be content (Philippians 4:11).  Christian contentment is ...

O Lord, I Have Waited For Thee Psalm 130 There is nothing little in God; his mercy is like himself, it is infinite. You cannot measure it.  Charles Spurgeon The depths. The valley. The wilderness. Darkness. These metaphors for trouble and affliction have become familiar as I have journeyed through the psalms. It seems we can only make it a psalm or two before the psalmist is again in a troubling circumstance or his spirit is disturbed within him. But that is so much like life. Rare would be the life untouched by frequent disturbances. Some of our difficulties are even the result of our own sinfulness, and so the pain can feel like a double-edged sword. Pain from the suffering, and pain from the regret. Psalm 130 is one of the penitential psalms, where the psalmist, deeply aware of his sin and its consequences, cries to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.  He begins the psalm with, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!” These depths can often refer to waters and seas and rep...

The Oppressor Will Not Prevail Psalm 129 Whatever men may be, Jehovah remains just, and will therefore keep covenant with his people and deal out justice to their oppressors. Charles Spurgeon  “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me” (Psalm 129:2). This psalm, continuing the psalms of ascent, calls Israel to celebrate the fact that “the people have been cut free from the oppression of the wicked after all” (Longman). Numerous times throughout Israel’s history, they had been afflicted and oppressed by various enemies, yet the Lord had delivered them time and time again. He, their righteous God, had “cut the cords of the wicked” (129:4). “The survival of this people, so hated but so resilient, bore silent witness to their Preserver” (Kidner). The same could be said for us as well. God, the Preserver, helps His children persevere through afflictions. Our enemies shall not gain the victory or prevail against us. In our affliction, we look t...