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 ...

A Green Olive Tree Psalm 52 Eternal mercy is my present confidence. Charles Spurgeon In Scripture, the picture of a flourishing and fruitful plant is often used to express the one who belongs to the Lord and is walking in obedience to Him. In Psalm 1, the one who delights in the Lord and meditates on His law day and night is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, yielding fruit whose leaf does not wither. Jeremiah says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). And Christ Himself uses the imagery when He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). In our psalm today David declares, “I am like a gr...

Psalm 36 The Steadfast Love of the Lord Far, far above all comprehension is the truth and faithfulness of God. He never fails, nor forgets, nor falters, nor forfeits his word. C.H.Spurgeon  God has promised to His children that He will never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:6). He has promised to work all things for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). He has promised that one day He will return to gather His children to Himself and take them to a place He has prepared for them (John 14:3). What undergirds these precious and magnificent promises He has made to us? His steadfast love. His steadfast love is His faithful, covenant love toward His children. Throughout Scripture this love can be translated as His lovingkindness, faithfulness, mercy, and favor. It encompasses God’s generous compassion, grace, and mercy toward a people who could never earn it and who could never deserve it.  In Psalm 36, David cries, “How precious ...