The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 55:22-23,
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days."
One of the fascinating things I see in the book of Psalms is that at times the psalmist will change who it is he is addressing- suddenly, on a dime, without any warning. It causes me to have to be fast on my feet to keep up at times. I find it to be a fascinating feature of many of the psalms. Perhaps you have noticed this as well.
In Psalm 55:1-11 David begins by addressing the Lord with his complaint and asks the Lord to curse "the wicked", verses 3 and 9. He then suddenly (with no indication of doing so) begins speaking to his enemy, as if in mid-conversation, who turns out to actually be a close friend, a companion, verses 12-14. Again, suddenly, he begins speaking to us, his "audience", and again as if in mid-conversation verses 15-22. He then, (and, again without warning) finishes his psalm by shifting his address to God, providing bookends to his psalm, verse 23. I could be off a bit on this analysis, and it really should be given greater scrutiny in a study of the text, so don't hold my feet to the fire on how accurate I may be on the breakout of the verses. However, just giving it a cursory reading reveals this feature.
In any event, David's exhortation to us in verses 22-23 provide a beautiful summation of the important characteristics of God's nature, and particularly the satisfying justice that lays at the root of God's nature. I am reminded of Jeremiah 9:24b, "I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight".
God's kindness is seen in the reality that we can cast our cares on the Lord, that as we do so he will sustain us. David says "he will never let the righteous be shaken." Likewise, God's justice is seen in David's words, "But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days."
This brings differing thoughts for me personally. The first is that, "there by the grace of God go I" when it comes to the judgment of the wicked. How thankful I am for the payment Jesus Christ made on that cross, and making that payment available to me for simply embracing him in faith. How frightful it would be to have to face God as my judge for the sins in my life apart from the righteous standing before God Jesus has provided me!
And, of course, how wonderful it is to know that the Lord will sustain me as I cast my cares upon him. Knowing he will never let us, as his righteous ones, be shaken is a comfort in this life nothing else could come close to provide!
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know..
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days."
One of the fascinating things I see in the book of Psalms is that at times the psalmist will change who it is he is addressing- suddenly, on a dime, without any warning. It causes me to have to be fast on my feet to keep up at times. I find it to be a fascinating feature of many of the psalms. Perhaps you have noticed this as well.
In Psalm 55:1-11 David begins by addressing the Lord with his complaint and asks the Lord to curse "the wicked", verses 3 and 9. He then suddenly (with no indication of doing so) begins speaking to his enemy, as if in mid-conversation, who turns out to actually be a close friend, a companion, verses 12-14. Again, suddenly, he begins speaking to us, his "audience", and again as if in mid-conversation verses 15-22. He then, (and, again without warning) finishes his psalm by shifting his address to God, providing bookends to his psalm, verse 23. I could be off a bit on this analysis, and it really should be given greater scrutiny in a study of the text, so don't hold my feet to the fire on how accurate I may be on the breakout of the verses. However, just giving it a cursory reading reveals this feature.
In any event, David's exhortation to us in verses 22-23 provide a beautiful summation of the important characteristics of God's nature, and particularly the satisfying justice that lays at the root of God's nature. I am reminded of Jeremiah 9:24b, "I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight".
God's kindness is seen in the reality that we can cast our cares on the Lord, that as we do so he will sustain us. David says "he will never let the righteous be shaken." Likewise, God's justice is seen in David's words, "But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days."
This brings differing thoughts for me personally. The first is that, "there by the grace of God go I" when it comes to the judgment of the wicked. How thankful I am for the payment Jesus Christ made on that cross, and making that payment available to me for simply embracing him in faith. How frightful it would be to have to face God as my judge for the sins in my life apart from the righteous standing before God Jesus has provided me!
And, of course, how wonderful it is to know that the Lord will sustain me as I cast my cares upon him. Knowing he will never let us, as his righteous ones, be shaken is a comfort in this life nothing else could come close to provide!
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know..
No comments:
Post a Comment