Savoring the Scripture

His Compassion Will Not Be Restrained  Psalm 40 To speak of God the Father as “the Father of mercies” is to say that he is the one who multiplies compassionate mercies to his needful, wayward, messy, fallen, wandering people. Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly God’s compassion toward us is His tender mercy, pity, and love. In Psalm 40, David prays, “You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me.” The ESV translates this as, “As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me.” This is tender comfort for those times when “evils beyond number” surround us (40:12). Whether it be our own iniquities which abound, others who seek to hurt us and delight in it, or anything that makes us afflicted and needy (40:12,14, 17). His compassionate mercy toward us is not restrained. He is mindful of us. He is our help. He is our deliverer. In His faithfulness and lovingkindness He will be there to meet us with His presence in our time of need.  We can trust that He will act acco...

Waiting in Hope Psalm 40 Answer to prayer may not be immediate, but perseverance in prayer expresses itself in humble submission to God’s sovereignty and the longing for a “new” expression of God’s covenant faithfulness. Willem VanGemeren  In our western culture, waiting is not usually something we are accustomed to. We live in an instant messaging, easy access, immediate response age, with most of those things happening right in our hands with a simple touch or swipe. I suppose, though, that for the sinful human heart, patiently waiting has always been a struggle.  The Scripture exhorts us to “wait patiently for the Lord” (Psalm 37:7), and “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12),  and Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow in order “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). What situation have you been praying about and waiting for the Lord to act? Many years may have already passed and still there seems to not even be ...