Psalm 67

Hello, my friend.   I have a very dear friend, who generally closes his letters by saying, “Keep shining.”  This seems, perhaps, to be a bit ‘corny’, even flippant, but if you ponder our PSALM 67, you find this is very Biblical.  I’m sure you’ve known people whose lives seem to shine, whose faces shine, whose very expressions of affection shine with their deep interest in you and in your life.  There is something about this shining that is so attractive and as you have already read in today’s Psalm, vs. 1, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.”  And I am sure you were drawn, in your thoughts, to that great blessing from Aaron and his sons to the people of Israel, as found in Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”  There is such joy and blessing in these thoughts, all relating to God’s wonderful love and caring affection for us, His children.

Shining requires some inner source and it is fascinating to look at a few other verses in Scripture which refer to this.  Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever.”  People who share their faith, who are wise in their love for the Lord, will shine like the stars in heaven.  And Matthew 5:16 refers to the same thing, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  So our shining is not only leading people to Christ, but it is in living Christ day by day, at home, at work, at play, at the fellowship of believing people in worship, the inevitable outward expression of a living, loving faith in God.   And then 2 Corinthians 4:6 is so great, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of the darkness (referring to Genesis 1:3) made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

So God has given us this light about which David is speaking here in Psalm 67:1.

And our thoughts turn inevitably to 2 Corinthians 3:18, which reads, “We who with unveiled faces (or transparently sincere lives) all reflect the Lord’s glory and we are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasingly glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  What a blessed assurance these verses give us.  And what rich teaching does the rest of Psalm 67 give us, the results of God’s face shining on us, bringing his salvation to the ends of the earth, enabling people everywhere to praise Him, and allowing God to bless us so the ends of the earth will fear Him.   I hope I haven’t quoted too much Scripture, but I love this great Psalm and am excited how it is reflected in so frequently elsewhere in the Book.

“Thank you, Lord, for the wonder of this intimate relationship with you, being used as lights in a dark world to shine into the most remote corners of need.  May we be wicks to burn out, knowing oil is supplied.  Bless my friend who is alongside, with prayer and encouragement.” 

Thank you, Friend, for being along.  I thank God for you.   Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 and can be ordered here.

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Psalm 66

Hello, my friend.  

It’s really exciting to see how David approaches God in our PSALM 66 for today.  In the first four verses he says, “Shout with joy…sing the glory…say to God, your deeds are awesome… all the earth sings praise to you…Selah!!”  And this little untranslatable word, ‘Selah’, simply literally means, “Wow, think about that!!”

And David praises the Lord for a whole list of reasons there in vss. 8-12… “God preserved our lives, keeping our feet from sliding.”  And he thanks God for “testing us, refining us like silver, bringing us into prison, laying burdens on our backs, even letting men ride over our heads, and we went through fire and water, but you, O Lord, brought us to a place of abundance. (vss.10-12)”   That’s the way to look at testing.  When God is in it, He has promised to bring us out of the testing to a place of blessing.  So we should shout with Job, who says while in the midst of terrible testing, “God knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.  I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.” (23:10-12.) That’s the way to face testing.  Simply know that when we are keeping in step with the Spirit, what God permits is always for our blessing and His glory.

And David says in our Psalm for today, “I cried out to the Lord with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.  If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”  Exactly. Why should He!!   So often people think, regardless of how they are living or lusting or sinning that the moment they pray God will answer them.  Why should He?  We read He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him, not those who feebly cry out to Him when they have a problem.  God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Heb.11:6), not those who occasionally go through little pious motions when it pleases them.  David was a prisoner of God, and found God to be His dearest treasure.  In spite of His failures, He shouts there in vs. 10 “Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me.”  And that because he could, by Grace, say, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”  Are you going through a time of barrenness, even bitterness, of spiritual carelessness?  Remember, the road to the throne is paved with stones of sincere intention and obedience to bring God all the praise.

“Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your Word in this time of thought, prayer and praise. Thank you that you, again and again, bring us to a place of abundance. Bless my friend alongside, and those who, this day, are in urgent need. We need to affirm our trust in you, day by day. You are a great God, and we praise you with full hearts.”

Thank you, my friend, for your prayers and encouragement.  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 and can be ordered here.

To subscribe to these blog posts please enter your email address in the space provided below.

Psalm 65

Hello, my friend.   These are rainy, spring days.  We prefer the warmth of strong sunshine, but the rains are important for the newly planted crops.  And the purpose of the planting is of course the harvest.  I sometimes think we forget this when it comes to sharing the Gospel. Too often we are excited when someone accepts Christ, and we have big celebrations.  But how often do we realize, in our churches, that when someone is born anew, then the work begins, including faithful nourishing, caring, loving, personal attention and protection. That is what discipling is about.  When we plant, we must have the harvest in mind, and the harvest represents seedlings which have grown to maturity and are themselves able to reproduce.

So our PSALM 65 for today is considered to be one which David wrote to be sung annually when the first grain of the year’s barley harvest was brought to the Lord  by the priest as a dedication offering (as we find in Lev. 23:9-14.)  David refers to our salvation when he says, in vs. 3, “When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions, answering us with awesome deeds of righteousness.”

And then David describes some of these deeds in vss.6-8, when he praises God who has formed the mountains, has stilled the roaring of the seas, enabling people afar to fear God’s wonders.  Some are enjoying the morning dawn while others at the same moment are in the fading evening.  All around the world God calls forth songs of joy.  But even more important he describes in this chapter so uniquely the way God prepares us for the harvest.  Notice in vs. 9, he speaks of God who “cares for the land and waters it; enriching it abundantly.”  And he extols God for his streams which are filled with water, providing people with grain, drenching the soil,  furrows and leveling its ridges; softening the land with showers and blessings its crops.

And then he says, “You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance, grasslands of the desert overflow, hills are clothed with gladness, meadows are covered with flocks, valleys are mantled with grain… and all creation shouts for joy and sings.”  Isn’t that strikingly beautiful?   So often we take the wonder of nature for granted, with abundant food, pure water, comfort in our homes in summer and winter, and fail to thank God for the wonder of nature and all He provides by the marvelous way He has created the world.  I love this Psalm’s reminder that we should, now and then, just pause and thank God for the beautiful world around us, all a gift from His loving hands, and the harvest of spiritual growth which we can enjoy in the lives of those we have reached for Christ.

“We are again stirred, Lord Jesus, by this reminder of the marvelous creation in which we live and move and have our being.  Thank you for the abundance of your provision for our every need.  We can’t find words equal to our thankfulness, but we rejoice in all you mean to us, Lord Jesus.   Bless my friend, and anyone at this moment in very special need. Thank  you Lord, Jesus, for your Word and Your faithfulness, day by day.” 

And thank you, special friend, for your prayers and loving encouragement.  I thank God for you!  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 and can be ordered here.

To subscribe to these blog posts please enter your email address in the space provided below.

Psalm 64

Hello, my friend.   Once in a while, I read a Psalm and say, “Lord, what can you teach me from this dirge, this unending complaint?”  And it is particularly remarkable that this PSALM 64 comes after that joyous Psalm 63, which we looked at yesterday.  We ask, how can it be that a great leader for the Lord, like King David was, can descend from the heights of praise, to these depths of complaint.

Don Wyrtzen, in his fascinating book, A Musician Looks at the Psalms, calls this Psalm a Drone-pipe of Judgment.  And he describes a drone-pipe as the lowest tone used for accompaniment on the bagpipe, referring to any long sustained bass note, against which changing harmonies sound.  Since Doris comes, as you know, from England, with her family largely raised in Scotland, we are always especially thrilled when we see and hear a band of bag-pipers playing their unique tunes.  If you have heard them, you recall this low bass-note on which everything else is structured.

This Psalm is like a drone-pipe, to which other Psalms are compared.  It is a long, groan-like complaint of David against what he calls in vs.3, ‘that noisy crowd of evildoers,’ evil people are those who have sharp, critical tongues, seeking to destroy innocent people, shooting at them without fear.  He describes them smugly saying, “Surely we have devised a perfect plan”, their minds and hearts full of cunning.  Ever met anyone like that?  And David needed to remember that when he faced foes of this fearful strength, he had to take refuge in the Lord, as he reminds himself in vs. 10.   For beneath all the bewilderment of his complaint is the drone-pipe, this insistent pedal point: “Hear me, O God…Hear me, O God…Hear me, O God.”  And his emphasis at the end of this Psalm is not on his grumbling but on his God.   Sometimes these Psalms seem monotonous in their complaints.  Wyrtzen says so wisely, “If I must be monotonous, let it be in singing God’s praises.”  What a valuable thought.  We all need to do our best for the Lord, so when people think of us they will not hear a drone of groaning, but a joyful sound of people who are enjoying the presence of the Lord.  We wonder, sometimes, why these complaints seem to be so repetitious, and we are puzzled why God felt it necessary to include them in His inspired Word.   But if you have studied music, one of the frequent exercises is that the composer will take a relatively simple theme.  You play it, and then continue to play a whole range of variations on the theme which enables one to stretch ones understanding of it by hearing it in other ways.  So we examine the various ways in which God leads us, speaks to us, and provides for our many needs.

“Help us, Lord, to know that you waste nothing.  And your Word is powerful in that it helps us realize that not a single groan is unheard, not a single tear is unnoticed, not a single need is ignored.  Bless us as we ponder these great truths. Thank you for my friend, who faithfully comes alongside.  Bless each one in the Village Family. We especially rejoice at the way you are using this simple ministry to be an encouragement and we earnestly pray that you will make us significant as your servants today.” 

Thank you, partner, for being along.  Cheerio

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 and can be ordered here.

To subscribe to these blog posts please enter your email address in the space provided below.

Psalm 63

Hello, my friend.    Ever been truly thirsty?  I remember back in the fifties when I was a missionary in the Ubangi.  Our new Chevy pick-up had arrived at Libenge, our mission station on the Ubangi River.  The only way I could get it would be to travel by bike the fifty-plus miles, from our station inland, Tandala.  So off I started carrying a canteen of water with me, knowing I could never drink water from a village or a stream because of widespread dysentery through the region.  And all went well for the first few hours.  But about noon, I had a flat-tire, and had no way to repair the tube.  But an enterprising African from a village said, “Just fill it with straw, white-friend.”  So I filled the tire with straw, and amazingly it worked, altho’ at a greatly reduced speed.  I set off, but soon found my canteen was empty.  I became increasingly thirsty, and then almost desperate.  I had one consuming desire: to get a drink of water.  Finally I did arrive at Kala, and poured clean water over my head, after drinking a gallon of it.  Nothing has ever tasted sweeter than that.

Why this long illustration?  Because in this wonderful PSALM 63 David refers so strongly to his desire for the Lord.  He says, “earnestly I seek you…my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”  Isn’t that powerful?  Have you ever felt that great a longing for God?  To be that hungry is certainly one of God’s most gracious gifts to an earnest believer.  David continues in the same vein by saying,  “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live…on my bed I remember you, through the watches of the night.  Because you are my help, I sing in the shadows of your wings…My soul clings to you; your right hand grips me.”

Oh, how powerfully does this wonderful Psalm reflect the definition of what it means to seek God. Hebrews 11:6, so often referred to here in the Village Schools, says, “God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  How diligently?  Well, this Psalm describes so wonderfully what this key to God’s rewards is… a passion that cannot be denied, an enthusiasm which over-rules all other desires, and a strong intention that is focused and fervent in its pursuit.  Of course, one cannot command a person to be hungry or to be thirsty.  This hunger and thirst comes because of a previous taste of the object desired.  I am hungry intrinsically, because I need food to grow.  And I am hungry for certain foods because I know they will help me grow.  Peter says so wonderfully, “Like newborn babes, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (2:2-3).   Ponder this Psalm, examine the quality of your mental and emotional food, and as the Lord said to Ezekiel, (3:3):  “‘Eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it and it tasted sweet as honey in my mouth.  He then said, ‘Go and speak my words to them.’”

“Stir us Lord, with a passion and hunger for you and your precious Word.  Bless my friend who is alongside with this eagerness to know and share you well.  Thank you, for the wonder of it all.” 

Thank you, partner, for your fellowship.  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 and can be ordered here.

To subscribe to these blog posts please enter your email address in the space provided below.

Psalm 62

Hello, my friend.  So the days, weeks and months fly by.   We reflect on these recent weeks and can surely say, with David the Psalmist in the beginning of our PSALM 62 for today, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”   Or as Eugene Peterson intriguingly puts it in his Bible version, The Message:  “ God, the one and only–I’ll wait as long as He says.  Everything I need comes from Him, so why not?  He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I’m set for life.”

That’s not a smug assumption, it is a strong assertion that God alone is enough.  David repeats these first verses again in the middle of the chapter, so valuable are the truths they contain. You’ll find in the NIV how he says, in vs. 1, “My soul finds rest in God alone;” and in vs. 5, having been reminded of the truth of that fact, he says, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.”  In other words it’s one thing to believe that God alone can give us rest, and it’s quite another thing to act upon that belief.

I’ve reminded my students so often that belief is much more than assent to Biblical doctrine.  Faith is made up, indeed, of belief in revealed truth, but it also includes trust in a revealed God.  The first is intellectual, academic, an acquaintance with creeds.  And one can read them, and repeat them, and even study the Creeds and yet never genuinely be a truly committed Christian.  The first, belief, is the foundation of life.  And the second, trust, is the evidence of life.  You cannot have the second without the first, altho’ you can have the first without the second.  Belief is the premise of our faith, and trust is the proof of our faith.  We rejoice in both, the person who is justified by faith is truly alive. (Romans 1:16,17). 

And I love verse 8 in our Psalm for today, “Trust in him at all times, O People; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”   And he rejoices there in vs. 11, “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong and that you, O Lord are loving.”   The foundation of our faith is strong, as we believe in the Word of God.  And the fruit of our faith is love, as we share the Word of God. 

“Thank you, Lord, for the privilege we have of just brooding and pondering your word.  I am so thankful for friends who have encouraged me by sharing their thoughts and their loving encouragement on the journey.  Bless the one who at this moment is along on the journey of faith, with peace and love and joy.  And we pray for some in urgent need at this time.  You are indeed the One and Only.” 

Thank you, fellow-pilgrim, for bringing encouragement on the journey.  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 and can be ordered here.

To subscribe to these blog posts please enter your email address in the space provided below.

Psalm 61

Hello, my friend.    Many of you were raised in the period of church history when hymns were not only tolerated but loved.  I am amazed how much singing in our little country church in Gothenburg, Nebraska had to do with my early spiritual growth.  It was not fancy, accompanied only by a piano, and there was a very ordinary choir, or singing group, but we loved to sing and even spent some Sunday evenings at someone’s house just for an after-church ‘singspiration’.  One of the hymns I loved goes like this.  “O safe to the Rock that is higher than I, my soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;  so sinful, so weary–Yours, Yours would I be.  O blest “Rock of Ages”, I’m hiding in Thee.  Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee, Thou blest “Rock of Ages”, I’m hiding in Thee.  In the calm of the noon-tide, in sorrow’s lone hour, in times when temptation casts o’er me its pow’r;  in the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea, Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee.”

And of course that hymn comes from our PSALM 61, for today.  David cries, vs.2, “from the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint;  lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.  I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”  And on and on this song of praise goes, a refreshing interlude in the midst of other songs laden with despair and discouragement.

There are times when even strong men feel weak and undone.  David admits his weakness–both physically and emotionally. He is probably referring to the Tabernacle, that splendid tent which by its very structure indicated the people were on a pilgrimage.  And times of extreme stress or pressure or difficulty often can be used of the Lord to drive us back to His presence, to a strong tower, protecting us from danger, and a strong refuge, protecting us from crumpling on the journey.

Many years ago, during a time of great trial and disappointment, I read Amy Carmichael’s great poem, called ‘Not in vain’.  “Not in vain the tedious toil on an unresponsive soil, travail, tears in secret shed over hopes that lay as dead.  All in vain, your faint heart cries, not in vain, your Lord replies;  nothing is too good to be;  then believe, believe to see.  Did your labor turn to dust?  Suffering–did it eat like rust, till the blade that once was keen as a blunted tool is seen?  Dust and rust your life’s reward?  Slay the thought:  believe your Lord.  When your soul is in distress, think upon His faithfulness.”

“Help us realize, Lord, the need of retreating into your heart, your love, your refuge, when things seem just too much to bear.  Give us the wisdom of just saying no to the calls on us from every side, just to find rest in the refuge of your Tent.  Bless my friend with very special care and comfort, even as we also pray for some at this moment in severe physical and emotional need.  Let us, Lord, sensibly find refuge in you, to be safe in the Rock that is higher than I.  Thank you, Lord.” 

And thank you, my friend, for your prayers and encouragement.  God is able.  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000. Copies are available for $10 each and can be ordered here.

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Psalm 60

Hello, my friend. I am always greatly encouraged when I read in I Corinthians 12:28, speaking about the Body of Christ, “God has in fact arranged the parts of the body, everyone of them just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”  And in vs. 13, “God has combined the members of the body…if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”  I am encouraged because I know that God is in charge of the distribution of the various areas of ministry which partner with Him.

So how does this relate to our PSALM 60, for today?  David, as you may have read, is again distressed by the difficulties through which he was going, and he even states that because God seems angry with them, they often stagger as drunk men.  But then he says, in vs. 4, “But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against their weapons.”

And then he quotes God, in vs. 6, who speaks from the sanctuary.  God says, “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth.  Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine;  Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.”   In fact, all the arrangement of these twelve tribes of Israel was on God’s initiative and because of God’s authority.  And when I am keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), I can totally trust the Lord to exercise initiative in my life, since he has made me the way I am for His glory alone.  I need not, I should not waste my time wishing I were someone else, with someone else’s gifts.  God in triumph has determined my way, and I can only thankfully and loyally trust Him to continue to work in me that which will bring Him pleasure (Phil.2:13).   Why?  Because even as we read in our Psalm today, “Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter…” And He looks on you and He looks on me and says, in triumph, “You are mine!!”

What a huge blessing and privilege to belong to the Lord, in a very real, practical and sufficient way.  As David says in vs. 11, “Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.  With God we will gain the victory…”   Thank God for people who do their best to help us, but in the final crunch, the help of man is worthless.  We are thankful for every bit of encouragement, but to God alone belongs the victory.  And as we develop this relationship with each other and with the Lord, we increasingly rest on Him above all others.

“Thank you, Lord, for this reminder of remembering where indeed is our ultimate resource of strength, renewal, protection and enabling.  We are workers together with You, and this makes the journey such a blessing, with You and with each other.   Bless my friend, who is on the Internet, with whatever need one may face.” 

And thank you, partner, for your fellowship.  I thank God for you.  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000.

Too Much Drama…

Bull horn lute from Bible History Online.

“Too much drama,” my teenage niece said, regarding her peers. Sometimes I feel the same way. The highs and lows of someone else’s life are difficult to hear about or follow. That is how some people experience the book of Psalms. David, and other writers, pour out their joys and woes to their (our) covenant God. Through their invitation, we read how they process their personal guilt, political victory, and even how they curse their enemies. Their tone is so intimate that the book reads like a diary of a youth going through necessary, but painful, emotional self-awareness. 

However, the book of Psalms is so much more than the account of the author’s well-being. Its purpose is to reveal the character and actions of a faithful God no matter what the present looks like personally or for the nation of Israel. And the book of Psalms points us to the coming of God the Son as the Messiah. 

In his commentary on the book of Psalms, Matthew Henry writes, it is “one of the choicest parts of the Old Testament, wherein there is so much of Christ and his gospel, as well as of God and his law, that it has been called the summary of both Testaments.” And on the road to Emmaus, post-resurrection, Jesus said, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).

The book of Psalms points to Jesus and invites us to share our entire selves with God. For this reason, our Village Schools of the Bible blog regularly posts reflections on the Psalms written by our founder, Monty Sholund. As many can testify, Monty knew and taught God’s Word powerfully, and he was also a prolific writer.  

We hope you will incorporate Monty’s Musing on the Psalms as a regular part of your Bible Study and reflection. You can subscribe below or you can find the blogs on our Facebook page. We post a new Psalm each Tuesday and Friday.

There are also copies of Monty’s book still available to order from Village Schools of the Bible. Send an email to Trish (trish@villageschoolsofthebible.org) to request a copy. Cost $10 each including postage.

Psalm 59

Hello, my friend.   Thanks for being along in PSALM 59, which at times seems to be  a wilderness journey of despair, anger, vindictiveness and severe judgment.  But this is the saga of a man, David, who by his nature was forthright and open in his emotions.  As we read this rather amazing Psalm, filled with cries of vengeance on David’s enemies, we rejoice living in a day when we are overshadowed by God’s grace.

I have so often defined this precious word, GRACE, as “God’s measureless provision reaching me at the point of immeasurable need.”  With the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell you and me, we find resources that we never had in our unregenerate days.  I think today we have an awareness of resources that perhaps David wasn’t even aware of, the resource of God’s enabling Grace, His forgiving Grace, His restoring Grace, His “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once one was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.  ‘Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear and Grace my fears relieved; How precious did that Grace appear, the hour I first believed.  Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come;  ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead me home.  When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.”

And where is this fullness of Grace to be found?  Well, I’m sure you know that great first chapter of John’s Gospel, vs. 14, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of Grace and truth.”  Do you know that verse?  It is worth spending time pondering on His glory, the glory of the One and Only.

If only David had known this great gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, in fullness.  If only he would have been privileged to know the incarnate Christ, the One and Only!!  But of course he powerfully knew and loved God, for in vs.16, after describing so vividly his enemies who “return at evening, snarling like dogs, prowling about the city, wandering about for food and howl if not satisfied,” he shouts so powerfully, “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love, for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”  This is the way to face our enemies, to face tough circumstances.  Recognize them, in all their evil, and then defeat them by praising God, who is our refuge in times of trouble.”

“Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming among us, to be in every way tested as we are, as Hebrews 4:15 so wonderfully tells us.  We marvel at the truth of that fact, and we rejoice in your fellowship in our sufferings.  Bless my dear friend who is along, whatever their case may be, and bless those who are in the problem of lingering illness and difficulties.  Help us trust you, Lord, all the way.” 

And thank you, my friend, for sharing these thoughts lovingly and prayerfully.  Cheerio!

These meditations on the Psalms were written by Village Schools of the Bible Founder, Monty Sholund and first published in book form as Monty’s Musings on the Psalms in 2000.