Category: Uncategorized

Psalms 70:1-3 (71:1-3)

O God, in You I hope; may I never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness, and set me free;
Incline Your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a God for protection
And a strong place for salvation,
For You are my foundation and my refuge.

Encouraging Words

I love how the Psalmist so often praises the Lord for the wonderful things He does and at the same time words it in such a way so as to be pleading with God to do those things. It is our God that we put our hope, not man. It is our God who will deliver us, set us free, hear us and save us, protect us, and be our strong foundation. He is our hope. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 62:9 (63:8)

My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand takes hold of me.

Personal Challenge

It is one thing to say that we are a follower of Christ, and it is an entirely different thing to actually follow Him wherever He leads. We have so many apostles, disciples, saints, and martyrs that have shown us that the path of Christ is not an easy path. It is a path of sacrifice and humility. For Christ, it was a path that led to the cross. What the Psalmist is saying here is that to be a follower of our Lord we must be walking close behind Him, our footsteps in His footsteps, giving up our selves, and taking hold of His strong, guiding hand. Glory be to God!

Psalms 62:4 (63:3)

Because Your mercy is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.

Encouraging Words

His mercy is better than life. Life on this earth is temporary. We have a life of eternity before us. A life that has the promise of no more pain, no more sorrow, no more sickness. It is because of this promise and the mercy that we are given by the owner of that promise, that our lips shall praise Him. Glory be to God!

Psalms 62:2 (63:1)

O God, my God, I rise early to be with You;
My soul thirsts for You.
How often my flesh thirsts for You
In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land.

Personal challenge

Does my soul really the thirst for my God? Not as much as it should. Our God has given His all for us, why shouldn’t we give our all to Him? Now is the time to rise early so that we can be with Him. Now is the time to thirst after Him so that He can quench that thirst. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 61:9 (62:8)

Hope in Him, all you congregation of people;
Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is our helper.

Encouraging Words

Oh, how appropriate are the words of the Psalmist of old in the midst of today’s pandemic. “Hope in Him, all you congregation of people.” He is our only hope. He is our salvation, in this and in every other situation that we find ourselves in. What an opportune time in our lives to turn our hearts and minds to Him, to love Him, and to show His love to our neighbor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 61:7-8 (62:6-7)

For He is my God and my savior,
My protector; I shall never be moved.

Psalms 61:6 (62:5)

However, be submissive to God, O my soul,
For my patient endurance is from Him.

Personal Challenge

We are hearing a lot nowadays about how difficult it is to have our actions and interactions with others restricted. It is indeed challenging to not be able to do what we have always done; go where we want to go, when we want to, and just be free to do our own thing, but it is for our own good and for the good of our neighbor. Throughout the history of mankind, people have been restricted this way, not because of a global pandemic, but because they were oppressed or hated by those who ruled over them. Maybe we should learn from this to be more compassionate and caring toward the oppressed, the marginalized, the shut-ins around us, and every one of our neighbors. This is one way to be submissive to God and to receive His patient endurance.

Psalms 61:2-3 (62:1-2)

Shall not my soul be submissive to God?
For from Him is my salvation.
For He is my God and my savior,
My protector; I shall be shaken no more.

Personal Challenge

Isn’t this something that no one wants to do? We say that we love God, but surely He will not ask us to submit to Him. He promises to be our salvation and our protector. But do I really have to submit to Him to receive these promises? Didn’t He give us free will so that we could choose to do what we want? He did give us free will, but He desires that we be submissive to Him by choice so that He can work in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!