Category: Psalm

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5).

Trouble’s coming.

I don’t know when

or where

or how

but I know it’s coming.

Because, you know…life.

I also know this–

You are safe.

He–the Lord of the Universe, Maker of Time and Space and Stuff–he’s got you.

David tells us that God will keep us safe in his dwelling, his tabernacle. Basically his house. And that image makes sense. If I want to protect something or someone, I can bring them into my home where there are doors to lock and alarms to set.  In the New Testament, Paul goes one better. Paul told the Colossians that our lives are hidden in God himself.

Not just in his home.

In Him.

Frankly, I don’t understand how any of this really works.

But I’ll take it.

Beloved, I hope that today is not your day of trouble. I wish you a day of sunshine and puppies and chocolate.

But if trouble comes…

You are safe.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced (Psalm 63:11).

All will be as it should be.

God’s people will praise him, and God’s enemies will be silenced.

It’s gonna happen.

You don’t need to make it happen

Or worry that it won’t happen

Because it’s gonna happen.

So do your part (that’s the praise bit) and leave the rest to the Lord God Almighty.

He can handle it.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will  go down to the depths of the earth (Psalm 63:9).

OK, so Mafia death squads are probably not after you.

Or, maybe they are…what do I know?

Regardless of your position on somebody’s hit list, you can be sure of one thing.

You do have an Enemy. 

That enemy is fierce

and implacable

and cunning

and really not very nice at all.

You also have a Protector, one whose strong hand holds you up, one who shelters you beneath his wings, one who is there when you call out to him in the depths of the night.

Fear not, Beloved.  Your enemy is vastly outmatched.

Happy Monday

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:8).

You’re on the ice for the first time.  

Your ankles are all wobbly.

Your feet will not obey.

Your legs are made of store-brand gelatin dessert.

The world spins incorrectly.

Gravity is not your friend.

The evil skates shoot out from beneath you

and you are falling

flailing

gasping

grasping.

Your hand finds another hand

big

strong

safe.

You grab hold for dear life, sinking terrified nails into willing flesh.

The hand holds you up, steadies you, guides you forward.

You will not fall while you cling to the hand that loves you.

That’s what this is.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings(Psalm 63:7).

When I read this line, I think of penguins.

I know, right? 

Seriously

Penguins

You know the picture I’m talking about.   You’ve seen it on nature shows.  The baby penguin sits on his daddy’s feet, while Dad tucks his wings and his belly over the kiddo to keep him warm.

Yeah, that image.  That is why dads have bellies.

I am aware that David probably never saw a penguin, so this is most likely not the image he was going for.

It is, however, the image that I take from this Scripture.  Yes, taking Scripture out of context puts one on a slippery theological slope, but I think if David were here, he’d back me 100%.

And yes, they sing.  How could they not?

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night (Psalm 63:6).

Many moons ago I had a friend named James.  James made it a practice to pray every night before he went to sleep.  Not just a quick, “Thanks, God–Nighty-night” sort of prayer.  He would painstakingly examine the day he had just spent, looking for any way in which he might have disobeyed God and repenting.  Sometimes he would arrive at work exhausted from a night short on sleep and long soul-searching.  While I think there may be a certain legalism mixed up in James’s approach that isn’t altogether healthy, I have always respected and admired his devotion.  He had a desire to connect with God that was, and often still is, lacking in my own life.

And what of you, Beloved?  What are your thoughts as you drift off to Dreamland?  When you lie awake at night, are you praising your Savior, or are you stressing over your mortgage?

I think I’m going to go back to bed and practice this verse.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you (Psalm 63:5).

My first thought here is that you shouldn’t sing with your mouth full.

Shows you how spiritual I am.

You push back from the Thanksgiving table, stuffed to the gills with all the tasty num-numminess you can imagine.  Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, veggies, cranberry fluff, pie…

It’s just like that, only in a spiritual sense, and without the unpleasant bloated feeling.

David has feasted on the knowledge of God’s love and the praise of his glory.  He is full with the presence of God.  

Of course, no matter how stuffed you are on Thanksgiving Day, by the following morning you’re ready to eat again.  The hunger continues.

As it should.

Happy Monday, Beloved.  Make it a feast.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory (Psalm 63:2).

David knew what it was to be in the presence of God.

Now he won’t settle for anything less.

You’ve felt it.  The sense that you are in His presence, that the concrete or sand or deep pile carpet or pine needles or tile or fresh cut grass or hardwood floor or squeaky snow beneath your feet has just been transformed.

Has become holy ground

Sometimes it makes you weep, sometimes laugh, sometimes stand in utter stillness of body and spirit.

But always, always, always, you know it is He.

That’s good stuff.

David went to the sanctuary to be in the presence of God.

But now, the sanctuary has come to us.  

It’s true.  You belong to Jesus, ya?  

So the Holy Spirit lives within you, ya?

So you are the temple of God.

Ya

Well, I mean, we are.  It’s not just you. Don’t get carried away.

But do enjoy it.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Psalm 1:6).

We get these massive wildfires in my area. Our home is in no danger, but my family and I have watched from the window and seen the flames consume the hillsides near us.

I see a lot of chaff being burned up.

I also see a lot of homes threatened, at times even lost. Times like that always make me wonder about verses like this. It seems like God is saying that His people will be protected from the fire, but we know that is not always the case. That leads me into a brief round of “This is beautiful poetry, but we know that life’s not always like that so how can I trust any of Scripture maybe it’s all poetry and I can’t take any of it literally–”

I’m glad you never have those moments, Beloved.

Anyway, it’s at about this point in my mental panic that three things occur. First, I read a little more closely, and I see that the Psalm says that God “watches over” his people, not that he keeps them from all harm. He doesn’t promise that the fire will not come, only that He will be with you in the fire.

Just ask Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Second, I remember that God has a different set of priorities than Michael has. God is far less concerned with the stuff of my life, or even with my life itself, than he is with the eternal me. Me, he keeps safe. Me, is untouchable by the flames, be they physical or metaphorical. Me, is a life hidden with Christ in God.

Third, I realize that I had a similar meltdown just three verses ago, and I realize that I am indeed a pitiful wretch.

But I’m a pitiful wretch loved by God. I’ll take it.

Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous (Psalm 1:4-5).

Sometimes I forget.

Sometimes I look at the non-believers around me, and I envy their “freedom.”

Sometimes, Beloved, I’m a little short-sighted.

I forget their destiny.  I forget that, without Christ, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Ever wonder why chaff blows away, while the wheat (that would be you) remains?  It’s because chaff has no substance, no weight.  There is nothing solid to it, nothing to keep it from drifting away on the breeze.

So it does.

What I sometimes confuse for freedom is the aimless drifting of an empty soul.

One day they, like we, will stand before the Father.  They will not be clothed in the righteousness of Christ—they will be naked in their sin.  They will not stand firm in the armor of God—they will be crushed under the weight of their own well-earned guilt.  They will not rejoice in the fellowship of the saints—they will be ever, forever alone.

Sometimes I forget.  But when I remember, I praise God for his grace, and I remind myself never to envy the lost, but ever to pity them, to pray for them, to reason and wrestle and reach for them.

Join me, Beloved.  And Happy Thursday.