More words from God to "those who work evil," from Psalm 53...
Have those who work evil no knowledge,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?
There they are, in great terror,
where there is no terror!
For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
Psalm 121
This psalm is a beautiful song of confidence in God. God who will never sleep nor slumber. Felix Mendelssohn composed a beautiful song based on this psalm.
I'm going to quote this psalm, but I'm going to add some names into it. (I don't know some of your names...so I'll use diary names...)
"I look up to the mountains;
does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from GOD,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
Amy and Tricia, he won't let you stumble,
your Guardian God won't fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel's Guardian will never doze or sleep.
God's your Guardian, Andy, right at your side to protect you--
Shielding you from sunstroke, Cherrygash, sheltering you from moonstroke.
God guards you, Onlygrace, from every evil, he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return, Sara, he guards you now, he guards you always."
I like how the the author, Eugene Peterson, inserted blanks throughout his tranlsation of this psalm, in order for us to fill in our names. I read it once aloud, inserting my name in each of the blanks. Names are powerful. Hearing your name, even when you say it yourself, has a certain meaning and power to it. And inserting it in a passage in the Bible like this, well, that has an even deeper meaning. It's awesome to think that God cares for you personally, by name.
Which verse means the most to you? For me, it's verse 8, "He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always." In order for God to be guarding me, thinking in human terms, it means he must be right by my side at all times. Or even right in front of me. He's actually all around me.
I trust God fully in this area. There are some areas that, admittedly, my trust level is low. Or maybe it's a belief level more than a trust level. However, on this, I trust him completely. Doesn't mean I'm going to go throwing my self off the pinnacle of a temple or anything...but I go about my life pretty fearlessly. I don't fear driving, or going out and about...I just don't fear for my life very much at all. God is guarding me. And when it's time for me to go Home, all the human protection in the world won't help me. I could be driving a tank in full, bullet-proof armor, wearing my seatbelt, motorcycle helmet, sunscreen, sunglasses, and everything. When it's time to go Home, Home I'll go, and joyfully. *whispers* I just hope it doesn't hurt much...heheh...
Anyway...read this psalm...insert you own name in all the blanks. Well, there aren't any blanks here, but where there are other names, insert yours. Let your confidence in God grow. Trust him.
He is trustworthy above all.
Grace and peace.