Pray for President Obama and the administration's response after North Korea test-fired another short-range missile Friday and declared it would act in "self-defense" if sanctions are brought by the U.N. Security Council...
More in the North Korea situation.
2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.
5-8 I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!
If I'm sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you've always stood up for me,
I'm free to run and play.
I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.
9-11 Those who are out to get me are marked for doom,
marked for death, bound for hell.
They'll die violent deaths;
jackals will tear them limb from limb.
But the king is glad in God;
his true friends spread the joy,
While small-minded gossips
are gagged for good. (The Message)
"From the instance here set before us, we must learn to be on our guard against despondency, in circumstances when we may see the wicked wallowing and rioting in the abundance of the things of this world, while we ourselves are left to pine under the want of them. David, in the present pressure to which he was exposed, might have given way to despair, but he knew that God was able to fill the hungry soul, and that he could lack nothing so long as he possessed an interest in his favour. It is God's will to try our patience in this life, by affliction of various kinds. Let us bear the wrongs which may be done to us with meekness, till the time come when all our desires shall be abundantly satisfied."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"The Testimony of Christ"
1 Timothy 2:5-7
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (ESV)
Paul's message here is combatting the "spiritual elitism" that was surfacing. Since there is only one God and he is the God of creation, there is only one answer for "the plight of sinners." If there were many gods, spiritual elitism would be acceptable. "Yet there is only one God over all the world, and so there is one message of grace that must be preached to everyone."
This one answer to the wickedness of men is "the man Christ Jesus." The man who is also God. He is the "ransom for all." "All," again, referring to classes of men, not to persons.
"The Heartbeat of the Godly"
Psalm 42:2
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? (ESV)
David frequently expressed an intense desire for God. In Psalm 27:4, he said, "One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple." (ESV) This Psalm is quoted in Matt Redman's worship song, "Better Is One Day." David wanted to enjoy God's presence and beauty. He also enjoyed dwelling on God's majesty and greatness, and his holiness and goodness. But David does more than contemplate. As we noted yesterday in our Psalm for the day, David wrote in Psalm 63:1, "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (ESV) So, more than just contemplating, David actively sought the face of God.
Paul also experienced this intense longing. In Philippians 3:10, he says, "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection..."
"This is the heartbeat of the godly person. As he contemplates God in the awesomeness of His infinite majesty, power, and holiness, and then as he dwells upon the riches of His mercy and grace poured out at Calvary, his heart is captivated by this One who could love him so. He is satisfied with God alone, but he is never satisfied with his present experience of God. He always yearns for more."
Grace and peace, friends!