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Lasting Words of Comfort
Today´s blog will be the last that I write for the pandemic.
I close with two Scriptures, both on my favorites list for remembering when times are tough. Both of them offer us reasons to not be afraid while walking through difficult days. Psalm 27:1 NKJV The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
John 14:27 NKJV Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Trouble, trials, difficulties, and hard times certainly try to steal our peace, don´t they? But the truth is, we do not have to let them! If we will remember
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We move out of Psalm 119 this morning, and I will take you for a few more days to some of my favorite verses of Scripture that offer comfort and help when we are walking through days of difficulty.
The text today comes from the pen of Jeremiah, the ink on the scroll smeared by his tears. We think (hey, I think with you!) that our trials have lasted a long time, like since Hurricane Michael in October of 2018! But Jeremiah´s troubles lasted more than 25 years. Jeremiah preached for 25 years that God´s judgment would fall upon his beloved nation Judah and his beloved city Jerusalem, while no one believed him. He must have doubted himself many times as He preached, but He never doubted God, so he preached on. Finally having preached the message of warning for 25 years, the judgment he hoped to forestall by the repentance of God´s people fell upon Jerusalem. Far from feeling vindicated, Jeremiah was heartbroken. The dripping of his tears became a flowing fountain. Weeping without ceasing, Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations about the downfall of Jerusalem. Read a portion of his lament, just to feel the depth of his sorrow. Lamentations 1:1–5 ESV 1 How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. 2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. 3 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4 The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly. 5 Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. Yet even in Jeremiah´s despair, he has hope. Folks, if Jeremiah still had hope with the capture and destruction of the city chosen by God, we can have hope!
Listen to His hope. Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The steadfast love of the Lord that brought Jeremiah hope is the translation of the Hebrew word “chesed.” “Chesed” is the Old Testament word for New Testament “grace.” God´s grace never stops. God never runs out of mercy. His supply renews daily. Great beyond description is the faithfulness of God! If you can, click the link below to listen to the song based on this text and sing along in worship of the Lord who offers hope in the worst of times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnOFh9WFe6k Psalm 119:169–176 NKJV
169 Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Your word. 170 Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word. 171 My lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes. 172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. 173 Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts. 174 I long for Your salvation, O Lord, And Your law is my delight. 175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; And let Your judgments help me. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. I would not force this final stanza of this most wonderful song to be descriptive of David´s journey with the Lord through his life. However, I see that it could be descriptive of many people´s journey and can be a help for us to see how the Lord is gracious to work in and on each of us through our various stages in life. Here is the way it impacts me. 169 Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Your word. First, as a lost sinner, we cry out to God in confusion, not understanding either our lostness or the way of salvation. 170 Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word. Having begun to see our need, or in a time of crisis, felt our need, we begin to seek the deliverance of the Lord. Perhaps we do not yet understand how to receive that deliverance, but we are beginning to see that Jesus is “mighty to save.” 171 My lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes. From the Word of God we learn more about the character and ways of God:
172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. And then we learn something of how all of this came together at the cross.
173 Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts. Knowing the truth presents the opportunity for choice. “I have chosen Your way, Lord!” 174 I long for Your salvation, O Lord, And Your law is my delight. Having been saved through faith, I love it daily. The Word has become my delight as it reveals more of You, God. 175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; And let Your judgments help me. With each day I live, I will add to the praise I offer. The judgments of Your Word help me grow to become more and more like Christ. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. And when like a sheep, I wander astray from walking with and following closely the Good Shepherd, seek me Lord! I know You are the one who seeks and saves! I will quickly repent and return to You and the direction I receive from Your Word. Psalm 119:161–168 NKJV
161 Princes persecute me without a cause, But my heart stands in awe of Your word. 162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure. 163 I hate and abhor lying, But I love Your law. 164 Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments. 165 Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble. 166 Lord, I hope for Your salvation, And I do Your commandments. 167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly. 168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, For all my ways are before You. David has lived a life of many trials, some of them self-initiated, yet through them all, David has been “a man after God´s own heart.” As he writes this stanza, troubles persist. I cannot help but wonder if one of the “princes” that persecute David is his own son Absalom who rebelled against his father and tried to kill him and take the kingdom. Whoever they are, they are in the background of this portion of Psalm 119. We do not hear desperate, painful pleas but confident assurance from the shepherd-king who trusts and loves the Lord and believes and keeps His Word. In eight verses, David shares nine benefits for those who obey the Word of the Lord. 1. They stand in awe of God and His Word. Jesus taught His disciples to pray beginning, “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” Hallowed means “reverenced” or “held in awe.” This is the attitude of heart that is right for prayer and right for life! 2. They know they have found great treasure in the Lord Himself and in His Word. Remember Jesus´ parables of the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great price? He was telling us that living in relationship with God is worth anything and everything. 3. The ways of God become “natural” to them. I don´t mean that they will no longer have the old sin nature to deal with, but that the new nature believers are given is dominating the battle in the soul. It is not that they have never told a lie, but now telling the truth is a long established practice. 4. They become people of praise, offering praise to the Almighty continuously.Their reverent attitude, grateful hearts for having the greatest treasure in the universe, walking in God´s ways all produce an overwhelming desire to exalt the One who makes this possible. 5. They have great peace. People say they want peace today. Most really don´t. They want a lack of conflict with their opinions and desires. Genuine peace comes from yielding to God´s ways. When we do that, our mind, will, and emotions will be at peace with each other and with the Lord. 6. Nothing is a stumbling block to them. Most stumbling blocks we encounter in life are things that come because we are not living in close fellowship to God and walking in His ways. Consequently, those who keep God´s Word, give little opportunity for stumbling blocks to get in their way. 7. They have hope! Their confidence in the Almighty comes from knowing Him and knowing His Word so well. 8. Their love for God´s Word is ever growing.Folks, the more we read and know the Holy Scriptures, the more we love them. The more we study them and learn from them, the more we recognize there is to learn. The more we obey them, the more we want to continue to obey and to grow in our obedience, so great is the result! 9. They abide in the Presence of the Lord. Their experience with God is not a few times a month when they go to church. They read the Word, pray, and walk with the Lord daily. They live in His presence and have sweet fellowship with Him. All of this comes to those who not only believe the words of God, but who read them, believe them, and practice them faithfully. This is the Psalm 1 person: Psalm 1 NKJV 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 119:153–160 NKJV
153 Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law. 154 Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes. 156 Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your judgments. 157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies. 158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word. 159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. 160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. David´s enemies are pressing him hard as he writes this stanza of Psalm 119.
Amos 5:24 NKJV But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. We can have confidence in this as David did, for as he said in conclusion, 160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. Psalm 119:145–152 NKJV
145 I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O Lord! I will keep Your statutes. 146 I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies. 147 I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. 148 My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. 149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice. 150 They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law. 151 You are near, O Lord, And all Your commandments are truth. 152 Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever. David is having trouble sleeping! Is anybody identifying with the shepherd-king?
David says in verse 150, “They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law.” The things that trouble him are drawing closer, and they keep him awake in the night and cause him to give up and get out of bed earlier than planned in the morning. But David knows what to do! Do you know what to do? If not, learn from what he says! He does three things.
I can tell you that doing this helps bring the peace that passes understanding when troubles arrive in the night. Psalm 119:137–144 NKJV
137 Righteous are You, O Lord, And upright are Your judgments. 138 Your testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful. 139 My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words. 140 Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it. 141 I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth. 143 Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, Yet Your commandments are my delights. 144 The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; Give me understanding, and I shall live. While walking through this psalm with you, a stanza at a time, the psalm itself has been speaking to the needs, thoughts, and feelings of my own soul. I find that each sentence seems to be addressing the things happening around me (and all of us) and giving me insight, understanding, guidance, and comfort. I have not ever done much of what I label Application Paraphrases as I have in several blogs lately, but I find that it helps me. I hope they are helping you. I am going to do another today. However, before I do, I want to issue a warning! I have such a high regard for the Word of God that I never want to detract from it in the slightest. A paraphrase is not a translation, and I often warn people about that. A paraphrase tries to carry the thought with no attempt to use the same word or phrase meanings. It can be useful for devotional reading or to get the main idea of a passage. It is not a good tool to use when doing a detailed study of Scripture or in teaching the Word of God. An Application Paraphrase is simply taking the ideas of a sentence or verse and describing how they are applying in the writer´s life at the time. An application paraphrase is no substitute for the actual Word of the Lord, nor should it be used like Scripture. I offer mine only to say here is how the Lord is speaking to me from this portion of Psalm 119 right now. I think it might be helpful to you because we are sharing a lot of the same experiences at the moment, probably many more than usual. With this understanding, let me offer my Application Paraphrase of Psalm 119:137-144 as the Spirit speaks to me through it today. 137 – While so much disinformation surrounds me from the media, I am reminded that only the Lord is wholly righteous and only His Word completely right and true. 138 – His commandments and testimonies are righteous altogether and their truths endure through all situations. 139 – I get really agitated by things I see and hear through the media, people speaking authoritatively who obviously know nothing of the Lord because they contradict His perfect Word. 140 – I am glad to be able to come back to the Word of God and read truth! I love it! 141 – I feel so small and weak and unable to impact what is happening all around me, but I do not forget the power of Your Word. 142 – That word endures forever, and it is always 100% true. 143 – I cannot escape the trouble and despair that is all around me and all of us right now; I must resolve to delight myself in the Lord and in His Word. 144 – But I am confident that because Your ways are established forever, the truth of Your Word shall guide me to live well. Psalm 119:129–136 NKJV
129 Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps them. 130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. 131 I opened my mouth and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. 132 Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name. 133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me. 134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts. 135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes. 136 Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law. I start with the final verse of this portion of Psalm 119. I start there, but I will not end there. Does verse 136 not capture what is happening in the United States of America at this very moment? Men, women, and teenagers do not keep the law of God. Let me be transparent and crystal clear. I am not talking about people engaged in lawful protest concerning the injustice of the killing of Mr. George Floyd. I myself have joined several protests, carrying a sign, praying on the sidewalk, and singing hymns in front of abortion clinics. Peaceful protest is a means of making a righteous and godly appeal to those in authority. Martin Luther King taught us all about the effectiveness of peaceful protests. That is the reason that the right to protest is protected in our Constitution. People involved in governing need to know when those who are governed strongly disagree with something they are doing. Those who are wise in authority want to know these things. When people march peacefully, carry language appropriate signs, and chant slogans, they are not only within the laws of our land but also within the laws of God. They are not the ones who cause rivers of tears “Because men do not keep Your law.” No, the ones who bring rivers of tears to my eyes and the eyes of a great multitude of Americans are those who
So what do we do? Is there any word from the Lord in His Holy Word? Indeed! Let me use the first seven verses in an application paraphrase. 129 – Lord, what we need now are Your wonderful testimonies; my mind, heart, and emotions need their guidance. 130 – The darkness of evil descends upon us and surrounds us. Let the light of Your words reveal the simple path of righteousness. 131 – As the deer pants for the water, may I long for You and for Your Word. 132 – Lord I need Your mercy; my brothers and sisters in Christ need Your mercy! 133 – I am sorely tempted at the moment to be angry, hateful, and vengeful. Direct my steps by Your Word. 134 – Let not these who threaten life and property be a threat to our freedom and liberty that we have in Christ. 135 – Help me to feel the warmth of Your comforting presence when the frigid darkness of hate prevails in so much of our land. In the name of Jesus we plead, Amen! Psalm 119:121–128 NKJV
121 I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors. 122 Be surety for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me. 123 My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation And Your righteous word. 124 Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes. 125 I am Your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know Your testimonies. 126 It is time for You to act, O Lord, For they have regarded Your law as void. 127 Therefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold! 128 Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. Have you ever waited for God´s answer to your prayers so long that you have said or thought, “I don´t believe God hears me!” I have, and if you have walked with Lord for a while and cried out to Him across some years, there have probably been times for you, just like for me, that it takes a while to receive a clear word from the Lord. When this happens, I think of what God said through Isaiah. Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. Like many of you, I have experienced this more times than once, but I recall very clearly what was the most difficult wait on God´s response in my life. It was when my oldest son was battling with addiction. He was praying, at least off and on, and his mother and I were praying continually, at times every hour, day after day, for years. We saw tiny moments of mercy but no overt answer from God. I will take David´s prayer in this stanza and rephrase it as my own during that time. 121 – Lord, I have tried to do what is right and best. Please do not let the enemy have victory over me, my family, and my son! 122 – I need You, God, to guarantee a good outcome in this, because I cannot! Please do not let those who despise You and hate me have the victory in this. 123 – I am wearing out my eyes reading the Scriptures, God, looking for the answer that is Your salvation for this problem and further instruction as to what we should do. 124 – God, I am keenly aware that none of us deserve Your deliverance. I ask not on the basis of merit but call upon You for mercy and grace, for myself, my wife, for my son. 125 – Even in my not understanding why You delay in answering, Lord, I remain Your servant. But I ask You to help me see what You are doing according to Your Word. 126 – (At some point of further crisis, I prayed) Lord, it is time for action! We cry out to You to do something! Others say Your promises are empty. 127 – But not me, God! Not my wife, God! We love Your Word, and we know Your promises are true and therefore more valuable than all the gold in the world. 128 – Even until we hear Your answer and see the work of Your hand, we know Your Word is right and good. We want to follow no one else and nothing else. Karen and I prayed like that for years. Years and years! But one day, God answered. Our son was delivered from his addiction and began to walk with the Lord. We still pray for him as we do for ourselves, but a part of our prayers is always an expression of thanksgiving for the deliverance we prayed for so very long. |
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