Savoring the Scripture

Revive Me! Psalm 69 LORD, revive Your work. Habakkuk 3:2 For the believer, the word “revive” has a two fold meaning. In one sense, we have been revived by our Lord in that we were once “dead in our trespasses and sins” but God “made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1,5 NASB). We were dead spiritually, but God gave us new life in Christ. He revived us by redeeming us and paying the ransom price, the debt, we owed. “The price we owe to the Lord is the price of our very lives, which we ourselves cannot pay, but Jesus paid this price in the place of all who trust in Him alone for salvation” (Tabletalk, June 2020). The second sense in which we as believers can be revived is in gaining new strength, increased vitality, to our spiritual life and walk with Christ. We must first be brought into a new life with Christ, and then the power of His Holy Spirit invigorates and revives us in an ongoing basis so that we can continually be increasing in our nearness and intimacy with the Savi...

Courage in Times of Deep Water Psalm 69 I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. Psalm 69:2 In our psalm today, David expresses his hardships in vivid language. We can sense his desperation when we read the first few verses that describe his difficulty with phrases like “the waters come up to my neck,” and “I sink in deep mire.” He continues, “I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.” He’s weary with his crying. His throat is parched  because of his continual cries. He is weary with waiting on God. We do not know the circumstances that have brought David to this place where he feels like he is drowning in affliction, but I’m thankful we do not have all the details. In his commentary on the Psalms, Longman says, “The troubles are not specific, which is in keeping with the purpose of the Psalms to provide templates of prayers for later worshippers who have similar, though not identical, issues.” Without specifics, we are able to insert ourselves ...