Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.
Blessed be the LORD! for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
The LORD is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
The tone of David's writing changes abruptly in this passage. First, he is complaining of people who don't care at all for God or for his works. But then, suddenly, he is praising God for multiple reasons. First, because he knows that God has heard his cry for mercy. Second, because God is his "strength and shield." And third, because God is also the strength of all of his people. These are all things we would do well to think upon when we are feeling down. Although it has almost become trite, the phrase is still true: "God is good; all the time. All the time; God is good."
And the LORD said to Moses, Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish.
Matthew Henry warns us: "In drawing near to God, we must never forget his holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution." There is a great danger in approaching God as our "buddy." And what danger do we take by playing "fast and loose" with his commands? Yes, Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law. But did he not also, in doing so, strengthen us with the Holy Spirit so that we might abide by those very laws? I'm as guilty as the next one. I just believe we should be more careful how we approach God. Yes, he is our heavenly "Daddy." We can come to him as children. But if we approach him as "the man upstairs" or some kind of heavenly "buddy," I believe we are on thin ice. Very thin. He is holy. He is the only one who is holy. There is nothing else in the entire creation that can be called holy. We should come before him as though we believe in that holiness and revere it.
Father, let me never take you lightly. You are holy, and I will treat you as such. You have called me "friend," and you are my Father, and I can come to you as a child comes to his daddy. But you are still holy. You are not a "good ol' boy." You are not a "buddy." You are holy, awesome and magnificent. Your beauty will be a thing to behold when we see you face to face; such beauty we will never have seen before, not even in the unspoiled places of your creation. Your beauty will surpass that of the Grand Teton Mountain Range, or the greatness of the oceans that sit on either side of our country. I just got goosebumps thinking about how beautiful you will be. I can't even begin to imagine. I have seen mountains, rivers, waterfalls, oceans, and canyons. You will be more majestic, magnificent and beautiful than all combined. I worship you.
Father, I pray this morning that Justin will get in for his surgery soon. They are still waiting. I pray that you would intervene and get this over with.
Grace and peace, friends.