Psalm 4:8:

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
   for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Matthew-Henry writes:

“It is said of the husbandman, that having cast his seed into the ground, he sleeps and riseth day and night, and the seed springs and grows he knoweth not how. Mark 4:26,27. So a good man having by faith and prayer cast his care upon God, he resteth night and day, and is very easy, leaving it to his God to perform all things for him according to his holy will.”

Jesus says:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Anxiety and worry are an insult to rationality in the Christian’s mind; and to God in himself. Yet here many of us are, almost constantly hurling insults.

Consider these two quotes:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”

and:

“To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom”

These two quotes are in direct opposition to one another. One says that fear must be overcome for wisdom. The other says that fear itself is where wisdom is found. The first quote comes from Psalms 9:10. The second comes from British philosopher Bertrand Russell in the 1800’s.

The philosophy of the world says that our fear is a hindrance. God says our stubborn confidence is.

Normally Sunday is my day to post my reflections on my meditation verse for the previous week. Unfortunately this week I apparently didn’t select a verse that was as relevant to my current life happenings as I thought. I selected 1 Timothy 4:8, but as the week went on I found that it simply wasn’t where my heart was.

Consequently, I don’t really have much to write about that. However, in my daily reading, I came upon a short passage from Psalm 55 which I find that in times of struggle, I relate to strongly.

"My heart is in anguish within me;
   the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
   and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away;
   I would lodge in the wilderness;
                         Selah"

In times of trouble, I find comfort in these words. Not only because it means that David, the man after God’s own heart, has shared my feelings. But more importantly because God inspired that David would write these words. In effect, God has said between these lines, "Be calm son, I understand. I am here."

I find precious peace in that.

Psalm 42:11

"Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation and my God."

Centuries before the promise of God in the messiah came to fruition, the true saints of God knew that it was only in God that true comfort and encouragement could be found to lift a weary soul.

Today, we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us use it as fuel to say to our soul, "Hope in God, for you will again praise him, your hope and your salvation!"

Psalm 103 may be my favorite Psalm to date. Particularly Psalm 103:8-12:

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

This week in scripture meditation, I focused on Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Sometimes I forget that David didn’t have the benefit of looking back and relying on the finished work of Jesus. He had to have faith in the to-be-fulfilled promise of a coming Christ whom he could cast his transgressions upon. Yet, even without the fulfilling of the promise, David asserted in faith that God had removed his transgressions from him, as far as the east is from the west.

This Psalm boasts encouragement of pure Gospel caliber. Grace, unadulterated and totally saturated. As Christians, with all confidence in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can shout this verse into the face of any temptation and any sin, knocking to the floor the enemy disarmed.

But for me, these verses haven’t only encouraged me against the enemy’s accusations. It also drips with the Lord’s good favor and patient correction, his love, that at the behest of grace, the Church enjoys in Jesus.

In Christ, God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger and overflowing with unmovable love (v8). That little word “chide” simply means to “rebuke sternly”, and we’re assured that his stern rebuke will not persist and his anger will subside (v9)–a beautiful promise fully fulfilled in Christ (1 John 2:2). Because of Christ, he does not give us what we truly deserve for our sins, but look’s on Jesus’ righteousness which now clothes us (v10). For his children, the infinite height of the heavens is the only right comparison to his great love (v11).

And finally, two of the most comforting promises are these, stated here in Psalm 103. By Jesus, all the condemning violence of our sin is removed from us–infinitely far away. We cannot be reunited with them (v12). But also, God is compassionately mindful of our sin-weakened state. He will faithfully prevents us from undertaking so much temptation that we can no longer bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13, Palm 103:14).

In the armor of God, I believe this is the stuff the Sword is made of.

This week, my scripture meditation verse was Psalm 51:8. I wrote my reactions to this verse a couple months back also, so I won’t go into too much detail. But I have some fresh thoughts after attempting to keep it on my mind over the last seven days.

“Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”

This is a powerful prayer. Unfortunately, it fails to be the prayer of my heart a lot of the time. However, as I sat and thought about David’s prayer here, it started to resonate in some really powerful ways.

David wrote this Psalm after he’d been called out by Nathan the prophet for committing adultery with Bathsheeba. His own sin was fresh on his mind. In the verses immediately preceding this one, he prayed to God that he would be cleansed of his guilt. Then, comes in this sentiment: “Let me hear joy and gladness“. It would appear that David is praying that the emotional wrenching he’s going through would come to an end. But, the next line comes in and turns that on it’s head.

“Let the bones that you have broken rejoice”! Where we would expect a reiteration of his last prayer for emotional healing, he prays that his broken spirit would rejoice just as it is.

I see a number of implications here. The first being that God has inflicted David with this injury in his spirit. But another would be that rejoicing in the injury inflicted by God would seem to the essence of hearing “joy and gladness”. At least in this thought here.

But this idea is made more sensible when we understand the manner of God’s showing love to his own.  Proverbs 3:11-12 (also Hebrews 12):

“My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.”

David has sinned. God has inflicted him with an injury of conscience. But, instead of seeking deliverance from the injury, David seeks to rejoice in the injury. He seeks the joy and gladness that comes along with the Father delighting in him, which he can be confident of because of this injury.

The discipline of the Lord, while emotionally–and sometimes physically–unpleasant is a profound source of encouragement to the sinner. It confirms that he is a child of God and an fellow heir of the Kingdom with Christ.

But, I also think this verse speaks, not just to God’s discipline of sin, but to our broader emotional and physical injuries from the Lord as well. Whether it is God’s passive hand or deliberate hand that has afflicted us, the point remains: no matter what has happened to us, God could have stopped it if he saw fit. Therefore, if we experience some terrible hardship, it is God’s decree. And if it is indeed God’s decree, then it is for our ultimate good; the good of those found righteous in Jesus Christ. Just as he has promised us in Romans 8:28.

For that reason, whatever our affliction happens to be, may our prayers be with David’s: Father, let us hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Take a moment to read Psalm 127:1:

“Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.”

I am also reminded of Acts 5:34-39:

“But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. "For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. "After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. "So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God."

I ought not forget that I accomplish nothing on my own and anything I desire to see accomplished, should it happen, will be at the hand and good pleasure of Jesus.