Psalm 17:7 
  Show me       
 “Show me the wonders of Your great love.” It’s so easy to read that phrase without stopping to ask what it means. Many people peruse the Old Testament and conclude that God is a harsh, judgemental tyrant, but that is not how David sees Him. For David, God is a God with a heart, a God of intense compassion who has an emotional attachment to His people. He is a God who is interested in us, who is merciful and who cares about the infinite details of all our lives.
So, what are the wonders of His great love and how will He show these wonders? God’s kingdom is upside down, its values and its rules defy human logic.  God loves the unlovable, God reaches out to the lowest, the weakest, the rejected and the outcast.  God shows mercy to all, to the rich and the poor, to the weak and the strong.  There are no conditions, His love is not earned, it does not need to be vindicated and it makes no demands. God’s love is constant, undeserved and freely given and it is not just a theological concept, for all who have been loved by God, know and feel that love. It flows in from without, it reaches down to us and melts our hearts and we cannot explain it or describe it for it is intensely personal and powerful. God’s love is His Spirit operating within the sanctuary of our being and only a man or woman who has experienced the indwelling of God’s Spirit is entitled to ask; “My God, show me the wonders of your great love.” 
This great love reveals itself in many ways, as we have seen, and one of them is the way in which our Mighty God saves and protects those who take refuge in Him. There are countless occasions when, as His children, we find ourselves facing mounting opposition from the world around, sometimes from other Christians or even friends and family members. At these times we have to go humbly to the Lord and first examine ourselves to see if we are at fault. We have already discovered that this was David’s first line of action.  Having examined himself and being reassured that he has not deceived anyone, that his mouth has not transgressed, he has kept himself from the ways of the violent and his feet have not stumbled David may now, with a pure heart, seek justice and protection from the Lord. The first step in this process is always to examine our own hearts. Secondly, we must examine ourselves in the light of God’s truth.  If we find that we are guiltless then it is our right to take refuge in the Lord for we may expect Him to save us from our foes. 
This verse speaks of God who saves by His right hand. God's right hand in the Old Testament defeats enemies, it gave the Law, it saves, gives joy and pleasures, shields, teaches, upholds, acquires, plants, gives victory, does valiantly, provides shade, leads, embraces, and creates. In the New Testament it is repeated over and over and over that Jesus, after finishing the work of redemption sat down at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD. Jesus is at God's right hand and IS THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD! This is the wonderful truth, that when Satan and his emissaries stand against us, when the world seems to be about to crush us, when even our friends and fellow believers are against us; JESUS is at the right hand of God to save! We may flee into His presence and hide behind Him for He is our refuge and our protection. If God is for us, who can be against us? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more