Saturday, June 27, 2020

Encouragement from Psalm 108

I've been working through a study of Psalms 101-150 with Women Living Well.
Recently I was meditating a bit on Psalm 108.  The verses I was looking at in particular were verses 3-5 and 12-13:

"I will praise Thee, O LORD, among the people; and I will sing praises into Thee among the nations.  For Thy mercy is great above the heavens; and Thy truth reacheth into the clouds.  Be Thou exalted, O LORD, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth ... Give us help from trouble; for vain is the help of man.  Through God we shall do valiantly; for He it is that shall tread down our enemies."
And here's what I observed about these verses:

David begins the psalm with praise to God for His mercy, His truth, and His holiness.  His prayer is for God to be exalted.  He goes on to rehearse what God has said concerning His own people and some of the heathen nations.  He asks that God will go with him and his armies as they go forth to battle.  He knows that only God can give them victory over their enemies.

And here's my application of this verse:

This psalm is a wonderful encouragement to me today!  I need to begin today and every day with the recognition that God is holy and merciful and entirely praiseworthy -- that all of life is to be done into His glory.  As I do this, and as I rehearse all that God has said in His Word and all that I have seen Him do in the past, I am strengthened to move forward in faith, knowing that God will help me to "do valiantly" as He gives victory over my enemies.

And lastly, my prayer after studying these verses: 
"Oh Lord, what a blessing it is to look at this psalm today!  I do praise You for Your mercy, truth, and holiness, for the truths of Your Word and for Your dealings with Your people in the past that are such examples to us.  I am so thankful that You are with us and will tread down our enemies -- both the enemy of our souls and the enemies of Your people.  I praise You for how You will work!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

I found these verses a special encouragement in these crazy times we are living in.  Hope they're a blessing to others as well.

2 comments:

  1. I did several studies with this group several years ago and found them enriching. I always enjoy and learn from your comments on Scripture.

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  2. Thank you, Maureen! I am blessed to think that you enjoy and learn from my occasional Scripture posts. I'm thinking that I may write more of them.

    I agree, the studies from Women Living Well are great. It's so important to get into God's Word for ourselves!

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