I have been seeing this 15-second commercial on TV recently. It is a picture of the sky above the clouds and the words, “When you die, are you going to heaven or not? You can know for sure. Heaven or not.net.”
Purchasing commercial time is very expensive. Someone is dedicated, and the subject matter could not be more important! As an ’80s song put it, we are living in a material world. Many do not think deeply enough about what happens after this life. A website dedicated to the very subject had me hopeful.
Visiting the website, I was impressed with the number of Scriptures used and the effort to use the Bible for every single point made. They cover the biblical explanation for our origin, the reliability of Scripture, the problem of sin, the sacrifice of Christ, and the need of salvation. I say biblical because they cite Scripture in each of these subject areas.
Please believe me when I say that I want to endorse and commend this website. I do not know who is behind it, other than the site “God Life,” a well-put-together website full of resources. But there were at least two erroneous statements made which contradict what the Bible teaches.
First, they claim that we are born with sin. Introducing the problem of sin, they write, “That makes it (heaven, NP) a problem for us…because we sin. It is our heritage. We are born with it.” We are born into a sinful world. Eventually, every one of us make the choice to sin. Their next statement, Romans 3:23, is correct. But it is different to say that “all have sinned” and that we are all born with sin. Ezekiel 18:4,20 state the truth that the son does not “bear the punishment of the father’s iniquity.” Teaching that we are born in sin is communicating the false idea that we inherit Adam’s sin. We surely inherit a fallen world because of his choice (Rom. 5:12), but as surely do not inherit his guilt. Our guilt comes through our own accountability. A newborn or small child is not accountable.
Second, their suggested remedy for addressing our sin problem in order to go to heaven is one of the most egregious religious errors formulated by religious people: “the sinner’s prayer.” They urge the reader to pray, “Dear God…I know I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. I receive Jesus…your only Son…right now as Savior of my life…having died to pay for my sins. Thank you for forgiving my sins…and for my new life.I pray this prayer in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!”
They are right to say that going to heaven means “you have to receive God’s gift of forgiveness and acceptance,” but wrong to suggest something that we have no biblical teaching or example for. The very first time Jesus was preached and the listeners asked what they should do, Peter could have given the counsel in the paragraph above. But he did not. He called for repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38), and those who gladly received the word did just that (Act 2:41). Please consider Mark 16:16, John 3:3-5, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:1-4, Galatians 3:26-27, Ephesians 4:4-6, Colossians 2:12, Titus 3:5, and 1 Peter 3:21.
All these passages show us that receiving God’s gift of forgiveness and acceptance goes beyond saying a prayer. It requires doing what people did in the first-century, when the gospel began to be preached and people first sought to do what they were taught. We need biblical example and teaching to adequately answer these sincere people’s powerful question.
Are different, according to the grace given to us (Romans 12:6).
Are variegated (1 Corinthians 12:4).
Some (faith, hope, love–1 Corinthians 13:13) are to be earnestly desired above miraculous gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31).
Are to be earnestly, zealously desired (1 Corinthians 14:1,12).
Are spiritual and not to be neglected (1 Timothy 4:14).
Are to be “kindled” (2 Timothy 1:6).
Are heavenly and “tasty” (Hebrews 6:4).
Are to be “employed” in serving one another (1 Peter 4:10).
As we enjoy presents from loved ones today, may we appreciate those which God has given to us to use for His glory and purpose. Above all, may we give thanks to God “for His indescribable gift” (Romans 5:15-16; 2 Corinthians 9:15).
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MAKERS OF POLLARD GREENS (Gary, Dale, Carl, Brent, and Neal)
Carl is far left, Brent is in green plaid, Gary is in black plaid, Dale is to his immediate right, and Neal is far right.
Houses need foundations. Economies must have foundations. Certainly, one’s worldview must have sufficient foundation. Jesus taught in Matthew 7:24-27 that not every foundation is equal. Building on an inadequate foundation leads to eternal ruin.
In Psalm 11, David speaks of foundations. He writes, “In the Lord I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (1-3). There are opposing forces trying to strike at our spiritual underpinning. Through legislatures, entertainment outlets, science, philosophy, and sensual lusts, the wicked are trying to destroy that upon which we stand. Satan is at war against the righteous (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8-9; Eph. 6:10ff). He wants us to lose our faith and lose our souls.
David’s question is poignant! What can the righteous do? The answer is certainly not “nothing.” We can’t go into hiding, wring our hands, or simply talk about what’s wrong with the world today. When we have the power of the Everlasting God on our side, the better question is, “What can’t the righteous do? “
We teach and worship as we do because of the foundation. We believe and live like we do because of the foundation (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11). However, there are many matters that come along to try and shake our foundations, to try and make us falter or retreat. We can be confident and sure of where we stand and why. Others need to know and have that assurance, too!
In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commanded his disciples to go out into the world and preach the gospel to everyone that they came across. We as Christians should go and do the same, but sometimes we come across people that seem like they would never even pretend to listen. I would like to give three examples of these types of people, people who seemed like they might have gone out of their way to avoid the gospel, but became devoted Christians in the end.
For the first example, turn to Luke 19:1-10. In verse one Jesus came into Jericho to a large crowd trying to see him, and inside the crowd was a man named Zaccheus. Zaccheus was a short man who worked as a tax collector, and because of his position many people saw him as evil. In verse four Zaccheus tried to climb up a tree to get a better look at Jesus from above the crowd. In verse five, Jesus saw him and said, “ Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” As soon as Zaccheus heard Jesus talk to him, he was as excited as he could be. This tax collector, who had seemed to care only about money or gold, was eagerly coming up to Jesus. Everyone in the surrounding area had hated this man, but here he was standing in front of Jesus and repenting.
Another example is John 4, starting in verse 7, when Jesus’ disciples left to get food in Samaria. When a woman came to the well, Jesus asked her for a drink of water but instead she asked why a Jew was talking to a Samaritan. Samaritans were seen as lower people by the Jews because they were a mix of Gentiles and Jews which caused them to be looked down upon by full Jews. Instead of answering her question, Jesus answered in verse 10, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says it to you, ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” This confused the woman even more, and she wondered what kind of water Jesus was talking about, or where she could even start to look for it.
In verse 13, Jesus told her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water i shall give him will never thirst.” The woman was probably starting to think Jesus was crazy at this point. He was talking about how the water from the well will only last a little bit, but then he talks about this water that he has that will satisfy someone’s thirst forever. Regardless, in verse 15 the woman asked Jesus for the special water, but instead he told her to go get her husband. The woman had five different husbands at one point or another, but she told Jesus that she had no husband at all. When Jesus told her about this in verse 18, she was shocked, and couldn’t imagine how he could have known. The Samaritan woman called Jesus a prophet.
Jesus then told her in verse 21 up to 24 what his goal was, and when he finished, the woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes he will tell us all things.” In verse 26, Jesus finally told her that he was the Messiah, and afterwards the woman left everything she brought to the well, and ran into the city telling everyone she could about the person she had just met. This Samaritan woman, who was seen as less by others and had sinned by having multiple husbands, turned her life around after meeting Jesus, and decided to follow him by spreading word of him throughout the town.
The third example is in Acts 8, starting in verse 9. There was a sorcerer named Simon who was amazing people by doing magic and people thought that he had the power of God. Everyone in Samaria who had met him and seen what he had done thought he was some kind of prophet. Then, when Phillip came into town and began to preach, a lot of the people who believed in Simon turned toward God, including Simon himself.
After he was baptized, Simon decided to follow Phillip and see the miracles that he was doing. Simon saw all the miracles that the apostles were performing and in verse 18 he even tried to bribe the apostles to give him their power. Instead, Peter told him that he could not buy the power of God, and his heart was not in the right place. Simon had allowed his greed to take over and he needed to repent. In response to what Peter told him, Simon said in verse 24, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” Just as quickly as he had sinned, Simon instead decided to repent of what he had done.
The idea of all of this and how it ties together is that People can be different on the inside then the outside. People can be willing to listen to the word of God if they are given a chance. Not everyone will listen, but taking a chance on someone could make a big difference. This could even apply to the opposite, which includes people in the church who may not think that they could go out and spread the word, but they might be more capable than they realize.
When you sit down with a financial planner, they look at your age and try to help you determine how to reach retirement goals. Particularly younger clients are usually told to invest at least a fraction into new, small and foreign companies. These may be riskier, but they are key to successful investing. When you find that special someone with whom you think you want to spend the rest of your life, you become keenly aware of risk. You risk rejection by making your feelings known. You put your heart at risk for disappointment, betrayal and hurt. But, think of the payoff for taking such a risk! Marriage can bring greater bliss than one would think possible on this earth. When facing a job change or relocation, that is a scary proposition. Will it be a failure, a flop and a frustration? One never knows, but often the risk is rewarded with renewal, growth and challenge. Risk is inherent for success.
For the church to succeed and grow, it must take risks. It must risk displeasing some people in order to please and obey the Lord. It must risk financially, stretching and challenging itself through ambitious contribution goals. It must risk emotionally and socially, when its members strive to reach out to lost souls and face potential rejection. It must risk in these same ways to reach out to other members in an attempt to build relationships needed to make a church close and strong. Yet, those who take the risk find the results rewarding and gratifying. Do we believe that God blesses those who are willing to risk themselves, their pocketbooks, their hearts and lives for the good of the Kingdom?
Look at Barnabus and Saul (Acts 15:25-26). Their risk paid off in greater service to Christ. Look at Prisca and Aquila (Romans 16:4). They “risked their necks” for Paul. Why did they do this? Not just for the gratitude of other Christians, but also for “eternal life” (Romans 2:7). Epaphroditus risked his life for the Philippi church of Christ (Philippians 2:30). It was to bring him honor and bring the church reward in righteous giving (29-30). Churches willing to take risks for the Lord will succeed and they will also be personally blessed. Are you willing to take that risk?
In 1215, the English nobility threatened to use force if King John did not sign the Magna Carta, which limited the monarch’s authority. We herald this document as a crucial step towards constitutional democracy. It laid the foundation for protecting individual rights and the rule of law. Before the Magna Carta, the monarch had unchecked power and could make decisions without limitations or accountability. It was the era of the “divine right of kings.” The Magna Carta challenged this concept and established that even the monarch was subject to the law.
In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites asked Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them, despite God’s warning that a king would take away their freedoms and rights. Since they expressed a desire for a king, Samuel sought guidance from God on how to proceed. God told Samuel they could have a king but that when they cried out for relief, He would not answer them (1 Samuel 8.18). Even so, the Israelites said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 18.19–20 NASB).
After the Israelites established a monarchy, they experienced a gradual erosion of their freedoms and rights. Kings had the power to impose taxes, conscript soldiers, and make decisions without consulting the people. This centralized authority often led to abuses of power and a lack of accountability. Additionally, the Israelites’ dependence on a human king shifted their focus away from God and placed greater trust in human leadership, which ultimately had negative consequences for their spiritual well-being.
Consider what the prophet Jeremiah said of King Jehoiakim:
And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows. I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar and paint it a lovely red.’ But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord. “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” (Jeremiah 22.13-17 NLT)
Jehoiakim is an excellent example of what the kings of Israel and Judah had become. And God kept His word and did not heed their cries. Instead, He allowed them to suffer the consequences of their actions. As God warned through Isaiah, “They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward” (Isaiah 8.21 NASB95).
What lesson can we learn from Israel as it emerged from the period of the judges when every man did what was right in his own eyes? Trying to impose our will upon God can harm us. Hence, “Be careful what you wish for.” Supposedly, that expression originated with Aesop’s fable “The Frogs Who Wished for a King.” But the plot of that tale is similar to the account in 1 Samuel, with the frogs asking Zeus to give them a king. In response, Zeus initially gave them a log. When they complained, Zeus gave them a crane, which gobbled many of them up.
Jesus taught us to pray that the Father would do His will in our lives (Matthew 6.10). He also set an example by surrendering his will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22.42). The latter meant that Jesus would offer His life on the cross (see Philippians 2.5-8).
In reflecting upon these historical and biblical narratives, we are reminded of the enduring lesson that desires for earthly power and authority, when unchecked and pursued without heed to moral and divine principles, can lead to unintended and dire consequences. The Magna Carta, born out of the need to limit unchecked royal power, is a testament to establishing legal and moral boundaries on leadership.
Likewise, the story in 1 Samuel 8 and the subsequent experiences of Israel and Judah are cautionary tales about the potential pitfalls of pursuing human kingship without due consideration of the divine will. The consequences of their insistence on having a human king ultimately led to oppression and spiritual decline.
In light of these lessons, we are encouraged to approach our desires and aspirations with humility, seeking alignment with higher principles and the divine will, as exemplified by Jesus’ prayer for God’s will to be done. As Christ’s selfless act on the cross demonstrates, giving up our will for a greater cause can result in outcomes that honor God and the welfare of humanity.
Today was the first day for all but one of our 56 members to be in the country of Turkey. We will make two stops in this country. Ephesus, from which we have just left, and Bodrum on Sunday. I knew I wanted to see the city of Ephesus, not far from the modern city of Kusadasi, but I had no idea how exciting and enriching the day would be. We had an outstanding guide, a man, Cenk, in a Muslim-majority nation who considers himself a Christian and whose working knowledge of the Bible was pleasantly surprising.
We spent a full two hours at Ephesus, starting at the ancient Harbor Road which Paul would have traveled to come up from the ancient port site of the city. Then, we went into the very theatre we read about in Acts 19:29! Getting to speak for a few minutes about that moment to our group in this theatre was a personal highlight! We saw the facade of the library of Celcus, an impressive second-century building. All along the way, we saw ancient ruins of this once thriving and leading city of Asia and the entire Roman Empire.
But perhaps the most exciting part of the day (though a visit to Aladdin’s Rug Warehouse was quite the unexpected treat) had to be walking through the recent excavations of the terrace houses among the Ephesus ruins. John Moore did us the wonderful favor of scheduling this as an add-on to the tour, and it was more than worth it! Cenk stopped the group and read this passage from Colossians 4:15, which says, “Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.” Laodicea is about 120 miles due east, inland from where we stood in these houses. With the thriving, growing congregation at Ephesus, it was very likely that Christians were meeting somewhere in these houses or houses just like them. Church buildings were not built until the fourth century, after Christianity was “legalized” in the Roman Empire.
It is hard to describe how exciting it was to know we were walking through a city Paul called home for three years (Acts 20:31) and where he worked so fruitfully (please take a moment to read Acts 19). Paul shed tears with the Ephesian elders in and around these now ancient buildings, teaching publicly and privately to help this influential church grow! These are faith-building days, a reminder of how unique the Bible is as not only the supreme source of truth but as a book that constantly serves itself up as a book which is verified by history, archaeology, science, and geography!
Hebrews 7:20-28 compares and contrasts Christ to the Levitical priesthood. In these verses Jesus’ Superiority is clearly seen. With Christ we have hope in the future, and with that comes power for the present. Christ is a better hope because He is the Appointed Priest. Being appointed caries with it the idea of being assigned a role or job. Christ has been assigned the role of being our very own priest.
Hebrews 7:20-22 says, “And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.'” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”
The Levitical priests were appointed by command. Exodus 28:1-4, “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests.”
God created the role of priests. It was a Divine command, but without an oath. In contrast to this, the great High Priest was made Priest with an oath. Psalm 110:4 says, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.””
This is a promise joined with an oath. Hebrews 6:17, “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath.” Jesus is a guarantee of the better covenant appointed by an oath from God, Christ guarantees the new covenant that is better.
Since He is appointed by God, we have direct access through Our Great High Priest. We have hope in knowing that the very Son of God is active in our relationship to the Father. That is a better hope. Beyond anything in the world.
What do you hope for in the future? A better job? More money? A bigger home? If so, know that people get fired, money gets spent, and homes rot away. If our hope is anything but our great High Priest, we have lost sight of what’s most important. Christ is our better hope because He has given us what we need most, a relationship with God the Father.
Kathy and I very recently discovered an interesting show produced by the History Channel, and the title of the series is “Alone.” It is a “reality show” (not usually a fan of those), but it involves survival experts dropped, alone, in the middle of nowhere. They get to take ten items of their choice to help them battle predators, the elements, and, most of all, isolation. Food, water, shelter, and fire top their priorities, but even having these cannot prevent the maddening monotony of being deprived of human companionship.
I love the way Solomon says it in the book of Ecclesiastes. “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” (4:9-12, NLT, emph. mine). At the very beginning, God made it clear that it isn’t good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18). Alone one is in trouble, in the cold, and in danger. It is not good for us.
The survivalists on the show figure that out. So does the person, even with people all around them, who keep themselves in isolation. Think of all the ways God combats our loneliness.
He gives us marriage (Gen. 2:18; 1 Cor. 11:9).
He gives us children (Psa. 127:3-5).
He gives us the church (Eph. 2:19).
He gives us the assemblies (Heb. 10:24-25).
He gives us fellowship (Acts 2:42).
He gives us hospitality (Rom. 12:10,13).
He gives us counselors and mentors (Prov. 15:22; 24:6; Ti. 2:3-4).
He gives us the aged (Lev. 19:32; 1 Tim. 5:1).
He gives us shepherds (Acts 20:28).
Life is difficult for the person determined to go it alone! We are left with our thoughts, which may or may not be accurate reflections of reality or at least the whole picture (Prov. 18:17). We are deprived of the very resources God has given to help us successfully overcome life’s challenges. It is an easy habit to get into to withdraw from the company of others, but it is not healthy! We need others, and, just as much, they need us!
The guys on the reality show voluntarily go it alone for money and notoriety, but, even with that incentive, the loneliness gets unbearable. For us, the prize and reward does not require us to cloister ourselves. It requires the opposite! May we never choose to be alone, when we have so many tools supplied by God to survive the challenges of this life.
After showing us that Jesus is our only true hope, Paul gives some information about the one who saved us. This is one of the most straightforward descriptions of God’s form and function that we have in scripture. God the father is invisible (1.15). No human has ever seen the father (Jn 6.46). The only visible form of God visible to human eyes is Jesus. This verse uses an interesting word: εικων (eikon). This means that Jesus is the form of God that we can see; or, he’s the “body” of God. This is clarified by 1.19, “God was pleased for all of himself to live in the son.” It’s repeated in 2.9, “I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth.” We’re all familiar with Genesis 1.1, “In the beginning God created the sky and ground.” We know from John 1.1ff that that was done through Jesus. Col 1.16 reaffirms this by saying, “Through Jesus’s power all things were made: things in space (ουρανοις) and on earth, visible and invisible — all spiritual rulers, masters, powers, and authorities. Everything was made through him and for him.” So why does Paul describe the physical makeup of the father and son? Because of 1.20, “Through Jesus, God was happy to bring all things back to himself again — things on earth and things outside of earth. God made peace by using the blood sacrifice of his son on the cross.” This is because we were separated from God because of our moral impurity (21). But he made peace with us through the death of Jesus (22). What’s very interesting in these two verses is the emphatic use of two different words for a physical body — σαρκος (sarkos) and σωματι (somati)! He just said that Jesus is the physical form of God, then emphasizes this by using two words for physical body. Jesus had form before he became fully human — he was the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament. But he became fully human so that he could feel pain, feel emotion, and bleed out for our sake. He did this so we’d be special and blameless in God’s eyes. In 1.23, Paul summarized why he said all that stuff — “You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the good news.”
On May 30, 1806, Charles Dickinson, an attorney from Nashville, TN, and Andrew Jackson engaged in a duel on the Jeff Burr farm. Charles Dickinson was a famous duelist and as he confidently walked to the farm he would fire multiple shots with his pistol to show those around who they should bet on.
Dueling was illegal in Tennessee so they made their way just a hair over the state line into Kentucky. It was on the bank of a river where over eighty people were buzzing with excitement as they gathered to watch.
Dickinson and Jackson had each taken twenty-four steps and then faced each other with pistol in hand. Both men glared at each other; sweat beading on their brows. This moment had been a long time coming and it was Jackson who had the most to lose, his good name.
Dickinson raised his pistol and shot first. The bullet hit Jackson in the shoulder but he was still standing. It’s reported by an eye-witness that with one hand Jackson pressed down on the bleeding wound and with the other he took aim— and shot. His bullet hit Dickinson square in the chest and he collapsed to ground.
Andrew Jackson would recover from his injury and become the president of the United States. Dickinson, however, would die The quarrel that had escalated to a duel to the death began with derogatory rumors that were spread by Dickinson about Jackson’s wife, Rachel.
Four Ways To Guard Against Gossip
When speaking of negative qualities: Say things that only need to be said.
Speak only things that would likely help the person being discussed, and no more.
Know your end game and why you’re saying what you’re saying. What do you hope to accomplish?
Most importantly— handle it biblically.
Romans 1:29; 2 Corinthians 12:20 – Both differentiate gossip from slander and condemn it as the result of a “depraved mind.” That’s strong language!
1 Timothy 5:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:11 – Both condemn “busybodies” who “speak about things not proper to mention.”
“Busybodies” – “busy about trifles and neglectful of important matters”
Matthew 18:15 – “If your brother sins, go and reprove him in private…”
This implies resolving the matter one on one. Gossip is just the opposite. Gossip is like breaking something that’s already broken and that makes a situation even harder to fix.
Galatians 6:1 – It must be a public matter if someone was “caught in sin.”
1 Timothy 5:20 – Paul tells Timothy that an elder who “continues in sin” should be rebuked “in the presence of all.”
Ps. 141.3 “set a guard over my mouth, a gatekeeper over my lips.”
In two different summers (2017 and 2019), I have visited the wilderness of Judea. Two words describe it very well: “hot” and “dry.” It serves as a great graphic or visual for David’s illustration in Psalm 63. The title over the psalm simply says, “A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judea.” He would have spent time there throughout his life, as a shepherd boy, as the Shepherd King, and, no doubt, later in life as the region included his Bethlehem home and his Jerusalem home. Whether herding sheep, fighting (or fleeing) enemies, or simply traveling, David would have traversed the land he speaks of in this psalm.
There is an entire song drawn from the words of this psalm. Mike Di Scala wrote it and the group Acapella sang this beautiful song (Your Love Is Better Than Life). The most striking feature of this psalm, to me, is the intimacy between David and God. David is not indifferent, like a spoiled child. God is not pictured as an indulgent Father or wrathful Deity. There is such depth to the relationship.
It Is A Personal Relationship–“You are my God” (1); “my soul, my flesh” (1), “my lips” (3), “my hands” (4), “my soul” (5), “my mouth” (5), “my bed” (6), “my help” (7), “my soul” (8), “my life” (9). You’ll find the personal pronoun “I” eight times (along with “my” 11 times). Not his father Jesse’s faith. Not his predecessor Saul’s faith. Not his brother Eliab’s faith. Not his the faith of a wife. David was personally invested. “I have seen you in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.” Nobody can do that for me.
It Is A Passionate Relationship–Modified with words like “earnestly” (1), “thirst” and “yearn” (2), it led him to praise, bless, lift hands, be satisfied and meditate. His soul clings to God (8). Notice that the one led to the other. By investing, he reaped dividends. What we do daily is either building our fire or dousing it. David was aflame.
It Is A Performing Relationship–It went beyond feelings. David did not simply receive; He gave. He sought (2). He worshipped (2-5). He meditated (6). He clung (8). It was characterized by faith, but also works.
It Is A Protecting Relationship– Despite the adversities and struggles he encountered in life, David was confident that God was with him and would deliver him (7, 9-12). God is praiseworthy, just in His nature. But it’s so much more than that. He cares for us and will help us every step of the way. Knowing that, who can help but mirror David’s thoughts and feelings in Psalm 63?
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