This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 17. This is one of only five Psalms that is a prayer instead of a song. David wrote only three of the five. As I thought about that tidbit of information I thought about how David praised God through singing through all sorts of situations that occurred in his life. David was not always walking in God's will. He did not always do what was right but in this particular Psalm he was saying he was doing what God desires. He was praying for God to protect him from his enemies. It's interesting to think many people when reading the background of this Psalm think it had to be written before David's sin with Bathsheba. Many believe David would not have called himself 'innocent' had it been after that time. Yesterday Doc and I were talking about a situation with a pastor's death. As I read a newspaper article about him, we were saddened to read how a 'fall' done four years ago was written about him in the article. He had repented and been restored back into the church he served. God had forgiven him and restored relationships in his life. When we repent of our sins, God no longer remembers them. Unfortunately, some people will never forget the 'bad' we do. Some people will hold 'bad' things against for the rest of our lives. Yesterday in our sermon we talked about being judgmental and how that was not the way God desires us to be. He desires us to follow His commandments of Matthew 22:36-40.
As we live out these two commandments, we will live as God desires of us. His love will ooze out of us in such a way people will desire to have Him in their life. This is the desire of my heart. My heart aches to see people not living with Him. It aches to see people struggling in life when if they would allow Him to be in control, they could have such freedom. Loving Him does not make all our problems go away but it gives us His strength to get through them. Loving Him gives us His wisdom to work through things. Loving Him gives us His comfort to get through the hurts of life. Plain and simple. Loving Him is the best way to live. As we love Him, He reminds us of how life with Him needs to be a daily cleansing. We need to ask Him to forgive us every day of anything we have done so He can cleanse us. Once we this then He can fill us with more of His Holy Spirit. As we said yesterday in our sermon, 'He wipes our slate clean!' The sins of tomorrow are gone when we live in this manner. God forgives and forgets and He is the Only One that matters. As we live out our life for Him, He will love us in such a way that is not possible through man. We can be confident in His love. David was confident in his innocence in verses three through five of Psalm 17. That confidence can only be found through repentance. David wrote about how his words and his actions were right before the Lord. That is the desire of my heart. When I ask God to cleanse me, I do so I can be right with Him. I do not want anything between me and Him. If there is, I will not be able to hear His voice. Therefore, I will not be able to walk in His will. That is definitely not where I desire to live. I desire to be living exactly as He desires of my life. I pray for His protection over my 'enemies' just as David prayed in verses six through eight. Yesterday's sermon brought up some 'enemies' to me. Satan loves to bring up our past to try to tear us down. He loves to put thoughts into our head about things we've done. He loves to remind us that people remember of such things. As we pray for God to protect us from our 'enemies' we can be assured He will. Praise His Holy Name! The enemy will try to get us to think about our past. God makes us realize the past is no longer when we repent. The enemy may get people to say things to us to remind us of past sins. God gives us the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 1:7) to overcome fearing what the enemy can do. God reminds us when we repent we are given a clean slate to begin anew. Woo hoo! The Psalm continues with David praying for God to take care of his enemies. The 'icing on the cake' for me with the way David prays in the last verse. In the Voice translation it reads:
But as for me, my hope is to see Your face. When I am vindicated, I will look upon the holy face of God, and when I awake, the longing of my soul will be satisfied in the glow of Your presence.
Yes! In His presence is where I choose to live. In His presence is where I will know what His will is for my life. In His presence is where I have hope of living with Him forever. Plain and simple. In His presence is where we all need to live. Woo hoo! I read in a commentary this morning:
“As for me” he says. In opposition to those who set their minds on things of this earth – whose only portion will be what they have in this life – David is more interested in beholding God’s face. Are you? Are you honestly more interested in seeing God and being with him forever than you are in what you can gain in this life? David was. And what made David confident that he was going to see God? It’s the very thing that he’s been emphasizing throughout this entire psalm – his innocence, his righteousness. Because of David’s righteousness, he would behold God’s face. Now, we know from what David says elsewhere and even from what the New Testament says of David that this is not self-righteousness or a righteousness based on the Law. But it’s the righteousness of one to whom sin is not imputed, whose transgressions the Lord forgives. That righteousness based on faith in God’s promises will allow David to see God’s face.
That last sentence is key. When we live a life as God desires of us, we will spend eternity with our Heavenly Father. Oh how I desire for more people to live in this manner.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the opportunity to preach with Doc yesterday! Thank You for giving him Your strength to get through the pain he was in! Thank You for another day of life for us together! Thank You for the opportunities that are ahead for us to love with Your love throughout this day! Lord, cleanse us so You can fill us to overflowing so Your love oozes out of our words, actions, attitude, and thoughts throughout this day. Father, I am pretty sure there is someone having surgery today or tomorrow that I failed to write down. Go before them and give their doctors wisdom. I pray You will bring their name to my mind. Father, I thank You for the opportunity to be an intercessor in prayer. Thank You for this example of David's prayer in Psalm 17 this morning as he prayed for his enemies! May You keep my focus on You when the enemy tries to pull me away with thoughts of my enemies. May You be greater than the hurts of my heart. May Your love show through me in a more intentional way today. Thank You Jesus for being My Hope! Amen.
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