Sunday 8 November, 2020

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— 15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. 16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

This is such a joyful psalm: Sing! Make music to Him!

“For God’s Word is something to sing about! He is true to His promises, His word can be trusted and everything He does is reliable and right” (v4 TPT).

It goes on:

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made (v5 NIV)

For He spoke and it came to be, He commanded and it stood firm (v9 NIV)

I love this!

Your Word is powerful and certain! I believe it. I can see the evidence of Your word: the starry night skies and all living creatures. There is no doubt. I will sing Your praise Lord!

As I read this psalm, I see another theme emerge: Your unfailing love.

Yet strangely for me, there’s not as much certainty about this. Sure, Lord, I have felt Your love but I struggle to be convinced of it. My doubts remain. Somehow, I think Your love towards me is based on my moods. That if I am feeling down and I think I am in trouble with You, then You don’t love me so much.

But the truth is Your love for me is not based on me and my changing nature.

Your love towards me is based on who You are and Your unchanging, unfailing nature!

For this, I am truly grateful Lord.

So when I see the starry night, and am reminded of how You spoke them into existence Father, may it also remind me of the certainty of Your unfailing unchanging love towards me. 

Written by Gab Martin