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 60:1,
"You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us; you have been angry—now restore us!"
This psalm, ascribed to David in the superscription, is a call to God for saving Israel from God himself. The context is that of God abandoning Israel as she goes out to fight against her enemies, "Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?" David says the Lord had shown the Israelites "desperate times", verse 3, and given them the "wine" of his judgment that made them stagger.
David sought the salvation of the nation from God, the very One who became her opponent. We see that David remained confident that God would come to the aid of Israel as he called upon him. The psalm closes with, "With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies."
This reminds me of the plight of all of humanity. All mankind is sinful and all of us are born into this life facing the horrific judgment of God for our sins. Revelation 21:8 describes it as a "fiery lake of burning sulfur."
When it comes to the gospel message, some think we need to be saved from the devil. It isn't the devil that will judge us for our sins. God will judge us.
Some feel we need to be saved from our sins. While this is true, it is only indirectly. It is our sin that places us in the horror of God's judgment, and it is that judgment we need to seek salvation from. We need to be saved from God! From God's judgment that is.
Just as David sought saving from God's treatment of Israel from God himself, so we need to seek our salvation from the One who threatens us. Welcome to the fear of the Lord! Jesus taught, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5. We see this foretold in Revelation 20:11-15.
Just as David sought salvation for the nation from God who made the nation stagger from the wine of his judgment, so we need to seek salvation for ourselves from the very one who will judge us for our sin. We find that salvation right here: "whoever hears my [Jesus'] word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.
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..
"You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us; you have been angry—now restore us!"
This psalm, ascribed to David in the superscription, is a call to God for saving Israel from God himself. The context is that of God abandoning Israel as she goes out to fight against her enemies, "Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?" David says the Lord had shown the Israelites "desperate times", verse 3, and given them the "wine" of his judgment that made them stagger.
David sought the salvation of the nation from God, the very One who became her opponent. We see that David remained confident that God would come to the aid of Israel as he called upon him. The psalm closes with, "With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies."
This reminds me of the plight of all of humanity. All mankind is sinful and all of us are born into this life facing the horrific judgment of God for our sins. Revelation 21:8 describes it as a "fiery lake of burning sulfur."
When it comes to the gospel message, some think we need to be saved from the devil. It isn't the devil that will judge us for our sins. God will judge us.
Some feel we need to be saved from our sins. While this is true, it is only indirectly. It is our sin that places us in the horror of God's judgment, and it is that judgment we need to seek salvation from. We need to be saved from God! From God's judgment that is.
Just as David sought saving from God's treatment of Israel from God himself, so we need to seek our salvation from the One who threatens us. Welcome to the fear of the Lord! Jesus taught, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5. We see this foretold in Revelation 20:11-15.
Just as David sought salvation for the nation from God who made the nation stagger from the wine of his judgment, so we need to seek salvation for ourselves from the very one who will judge us for our sin. We find that salvation right here: "whoever hears my [Jesus'] word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.
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..
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