Thursday 29 December, 2016

1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. 3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. 4 For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. 5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished. 7 The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. 9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. 11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. 12 For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. 13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, 14 that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation. 15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. 16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c] 17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God. 18 But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish. 19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. 20 Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.

David gets straight to the point in this Psalm.  He makes plain  he will praise the Lord and has wonderful deeds to speak of about God.  He then tells his listeners about the Lord’s work among David’s enemies – that He has made a powerful impression on them, so much so that “even the memory of them has perished”!

We may not characterise people as enemies too often but we should all have “wonderful deeds” to tell of how God has been at work in our lives.  The truth is we all do if we are looking for what the Lord is doing.  For He is far more active than we give Him credit for.

So what will I do – I’m taking the time to call to mind and deliberately thank God for all His wonderful deeds in my life – and there are many.  Interestingly, I think I come to the end of them and then remember another and it is like the tide coming in with more and more of God’s great blessings in my life – why not do the same right now!

Father, help each of us call to mind the small, the large, the amazing and the mundane evidences of You at work in our lives!

Written by Richard Botta