Psalm 119:153-160
RESH
153 Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise!
155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Great is your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to your rules.
157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies.
158 I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.
As we recently discussed, we give thanks to God, for not only are we saved through His Son, Jesus Christ; We have also been vindicated.
Here, we read more into that, at least in the first verse where the Psalmist writes of how our God (whom we call our Father thanks to Christ and the New Covenant) looks on us and our affliction. Yes, He sees our physical wounds, our infirmities and our diseases. He sees our fear and anguish, and how it manifests into our being and our reality. He sees all that sin has done to us, and He delivers us.
Through Christ we have died to sin, and we have been made alive by way of His righteousness imputed to us. We were doomed, sinners destined only for death and oblivion; but Christ became sin and took what we deserved, that we would become His righteousness, unto eternal life.
Christ has satisfied the perfection of the Law, and we have been brought into a new Covenant which has us truly living in His grace and glory.
Through Christ, we have been redeemed. Through Christ, we have been given true Life, Life everlasting.
We have compassion for the rest of the world, and for the wicked remaining in sin. We were once a part of them, until we allowed the Holy Spirit to have us realize the Truth of the matter – that the statutes we did not seek was actually the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, and, again because Christ, the Living Word, satisfied the perfection of the Law, we have been granted great mercy, and more importantly, we have moved – from dying to sin, to becoming righteous unto life.
We understand that these folks who declare themselves our persecutors and adversaries have yet to come to the saving knowledge of Christ, and with compassion, we continue to pray for them – sure as our Father is always faithful to us, we continually raise the nations up, that they would come to see the goodness of God that leads to repentance.
159 Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love.
160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
We need to continue to bask in the Word of God, for in it, all of our senses are directed to the right, and into Life – For through Scripture, we are reminded of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and all He has done for us.
We LIVE by the Word of God. That’s what Christ told the bread-peddling devil in the wilderness. His Word is Life; sure as His voice declared light in the beginning of time, so His word proclaims us righteous unto everlasting Life.
I’m reminded of how, in Christ, we’re naturally led to reading His Word and meditating on it – for at the very least, we would be reminded of His goodness, His glory and grace, as seen through all that is in the Word that points to Christ.
I personally think, in this point in time, that it is not a mere opportunity, not a mere privilege, but an essential for all of us in the body of Christ – to continue to rejoice in the Lord, to continue to pray and give thanks – by way of our constant feeding in the Word. I mean, it’s not as if the enemy of our souls has taken a break – in fact, in these times, I believe that we’ve been seeing him stealing, killing, and destroying a whole lot more. And not only have we noticed an increase in quantity of these things he does – but attacks have taken form in other ways. He continues to steal, but he also tries to steal our focus. He continues to kill, but he also tries to kill our confidence. He continues to destroy, and he also targets our relationships, our minds, our hearts for destruction.
Are we, therefore, to be intimidated? By no means – We have and will continue to have the peace of God that goes beyond all understanding, by way of the Holy Spirit moving in our midst, reminding us that through Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit moving in, through, and around us, all things continue to be made new, more and more of the world is counted into the body of Christ by way of repentance unto eternal life. Finally, not only have we been re-created, but in the face of all destruction we are reminded of how what remains is essential, and how what remains is held together by Christ.
For the faithfulness of our God present, especially during these times of apparent escalation, we continue to rejoice in the Lord, we continue to pray without ceasing, and we continue to give thanks in everything. By the finished work of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we observe and proclaim that our good Father is faithful.
And regarding His faithfulness, we behold it, receive it and appreciate it by way of our constant renewal, and our renewing consistency in Him. In other words, His mercies are new and fresh, inducing renewal of our minds and transformation of our beings – every single morning. Furthermore, His faithfulness – well, His faithfulness is just great, in that He is faithful even when we are faithless.
He is faithful to me, no matter what I bring myself into, and no matter how I suffer.
His mercies are new every morning – consistent, even in my inconsistencies.
I felt I just needed to express and project it – for myself, primarily… But if you are blessed by any of this, well, may the Lord continue to bless you as well.
Amen.
87970/365000
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment