Satisfied

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, God, Grace, Hope, Mercy, Pandemic, Peace, Security

“Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!  We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” (Psalm 65:4, ESV).

            In this psalm, David lifts up grateful praise to God, who hears the prayers of His people.  He begins by expressing the worthiness of the Lord for honor and devotion (v.1), that God hears prayer (v.2) and forgives sin (v.3).  How wonderful it is to belong to the one true God, and how gracious, that God should draw a people to Himself (v.4).

            Wonderful indeed is the unmerited grace of God Almighty.  Under the weight of guilt and sin, look to Him to lift you up; in the grip of grief, look to Him for peace and hope.  Set your heart on the presence of God, the gift of the Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ.  That is where true and abiding joy is found.

The Shadow of His Wings

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, God, Hope, Love, Pandemic, Peace, Protection, Security, Strength

“for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63:7-8, ESV).

            With evocative imagery, David describes the wonderful security and support of trusting in the Lord.  His reliance on God brings an inner satisfaction (v.5), and a sense of supreme safety, as of a little bird sheltering beneath the wings of its parent (v.7).  The further image of the “right hand” emphasizes God’s strength exercised on behalf of His servant (v.8).

            Rest in God’s mighty strength.  The images in these verses should impress upon us God’s compassion for His people, and the security we can know in reliance upon Him.  The world’s rage is nothing compared to the right hand of the Lord; what can harm those who take refuge in the shadow of His wings?

Salvation and Glory

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Faith, God, Hope, Pandemic, Protection, Redemption, Salvation, Security, Trust

“On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God” (Psalm 62:7, ESV).

            In this verse, David elaborates on the theme of God as fortress he has been repeating (vv.2, 6).  God is the center of his hope.  Trust is expressed in two dimensions: declaring God the focus of his future, and describing God as the place of safety from danger.  Turning aside from all vain glory and all passing hopes of deliverance, true confidence is to be found in the unfailing, invincible God.

            God is able to protect and provide, to rescue and redeem, to free and fulfill, in every time, in every place, in every situation.  Make God your total trust.  He will save and glorify those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  He will be a stronghold of hope for those who call upon Him.

His Holy Throne

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Authority, Christianity, Comfort, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Divine Sovereignty, God, Pandemic, Security

“God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:8, ESV).

            As the beginning, so the end of this psalm proclaims the mighty dominion of God over the kings and kingdoms of the earth.  After declaring His particular victories for His people (vv.3-4), the psalmist turns to praises of the Great King (vv.5-7).  His Lordship is utterly supreme, over every power that may be.  God is the unchallenged divine sovereign.

            God’s people can rest secure in His absolute lordship.  No power can challenge Him, and nothing can happen to His children without His permission.  Every authority and power in this world stands under the Lord—and will answer to the Great King at the last day.  We should live with confidence, knowing that all our days are in His hands.

The Most High

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, Glory, God, Kingdom of God, Lordship, Pandemic, Security, Strength

“For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth” (Psalm 47:2, ESV).

            This psalm of rejoicing emphasizes God’s sovereign dominion over the world and its kingdoms.  The intensive title for God draws attention to His glorious authority.  We may not immediately think of joy as the response to the message that God “is to be feared”, but that is clearly the theme of the psalm, which begins with a call to jubilant praise.  The awesome might of the Lord Almighty means deliverance and protection for His people; in His supremacy, we rejoice.

            Let the glorious sovereignty of the Lord be a joy and comfort to your soul.  God is majestic and mighty, the King above all kings.  He will judge the wicked, and vindicate His children.  He sees your sufferings, and cares for your griefs; and He will lift you up, at the time of His wisdom.  Take courage, and rejoice in the reign of God.

Lord of Hosts

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, God, Hope, Pandemic, Power, Security, Strength

“The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:7, ESV).

            As with Psalm 42:5, we have in Psalm 46:7 a passage that stands out as the theme of the psalm due to its exact repetition at the end (v.11).  This couplet expresses, with potent parallelism, the security that God’s people find in Him.  The presence and stability of God leads up to this verse (vv.4-6), and the absolute sovereignty of God carries the psalm to its conclusion (vv.8-10).  An invincible warrior, an unbreakable stronghold, God is the strength of His people.

The Lord is the Almighty; in Him we have nothing to fear.  Notice, in this verse, the emphasis on God’s presence and protection.  If you make the Lord your trust, you can stand against whatever this life may bring.  No power can rival the Lord of hosts; no danger can harm those He shelters.

Merciful Might

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Christianity, Comfort, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, God, Pandemic, Peace, Power, Protection, Security, Strength

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1, ESV).

            Here the sons of Korah declare the marvelous security of those who trust in the Lord.  The image is of a stronghold or place of safety where God’s people may shelter against even the fiercest catastrophe.  Thus the following verses describe the supreme safety of the Lord’s presence against world-shaking cataclysm (vv.2-3), and the psalm’s refrain reiterates this theme of God as fortress (vv.7, 11).

            Rely on God’s merciful might to protect you.  God is the shelter of His people; in every danger, He can save; in every struggle, He can lift you up.  Place your confidence in Him.  Though the road may be perilous, He will bring you safely home.

Blessed Trust

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Faith, God, Hope, Pandemic, Salvation, Security, Trust, Truth

“Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” (Psalm 40:4)

            Having reflected on God’s faithfulness to him, David declares this commendation of those who, like him, wait upon the Lord.  He waited on the Lord, and was not disappointed (vv.1-3); his deliverance became a testimony to others, that they likewise “put their trust in the LORD” (v.3).  This is the way of wisdom, that pierces the vanity of the world.

            Trust in the Lord.  When days are dark, keep your courage, hold onto your hope, and trust in the Lord.  God looks kindly on the humble, and receives all who cast themselves upon His redeeming love.  God is faithful, merciful and compassionate; blessed are those who trust in Him.

The Shadow of His Wings

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, Faithfulness, God, Gospel, Love, Pandemic, Protection, Security

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!  The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 36:7, ESV).

            In his contrast of the faithful God with the treacherous wicked, David has already declared the vastness of the Lord’s “steadfast love” (v.5).  Now the wonder of it bursts forth in exuberant praise.  With a touching metaphorical image, the psalmist compares God’s compassion and protection to a bird sheltering its young beneath its wings.  The image may strike us as a strange one to use for God, but it accomplishes well the purpose of picturing His fatherly love and protection.

            Take a moment to meditate on the wonder of God’s steadfast love.  The Lord of all the universe takes notice of, protects, and has compassion on those who come to Him in faith.  Turn to Him with your sorrows and fears, and He will shelter you.

To the Heavens

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Christianity, Compassion, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Love, Mercy, Pandemic, Security

“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds” (Psalm 36:5, ESV).

            In Psalm 36, David appeals to God, who brings down the proud wicked but looks kindly upon those who humbly turn to Him.  Arrogance and falseness characterize those who delight in evil (vv.1-4); but God is gracious and trustworthy (v.5).  In this poetic statement of the vastness of God’s love and faithfulness, we are reminded that we can look to Him for deliverance from all evil.

            God’s love is unfathomably vast.  His grace and mercy are like the infinite expanse above.  He is trustworthy, reliable, dependable; He keeps His promises.  Those who turn to God for forgiveness and life can have every confidence that their heavenly Father is merciful to forgive and faithful to save.  Take courage in the everlasting love of God Almighty.