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The other night I was reading in Psalms, and I came across so many encouraging verses that I thought I would share them with you. I’ve written a few thoughts on them here and there, but a lot of this post is just Scripture. These are some beautiful verses, folks!
Psalm 90
2Â Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
4Â For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
I love how these verses bring out how big and infinite God is. As is said in another psalm, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”
8Â Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
God knows. He knows everything. I cringe when I think of how disgusting our sins are in His eyes. But thanks be to God that He has provided a way of redemption for us! The blood of Jesus Christ covers our sins, and we are forgiven. I am so thankful for that.
10Â The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
“For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” I just love that phrase. I can’t wait to fly away home!
11Â Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12Â So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Far too often, we don’t understand just how big and how majestic and perfect God is (reference some of the earlier verses). We get too big an opinion of ourselves, then dumb God down to our level. Nope. That’s not right. He is perfection, and He expects righteousness from us. He is a just God, and when we fall short, He has every right to be angry. Thankfully, the God I serve is a merciful God (if you doubt, just think of how many times He forgave the children of Israel in their journeys). However, He does have every right to call us to task for where we fail, and we need to live with this in mind. We need to see our smallness (“number our days”) and humanity and live in wisdom, walking humbly with our God.
14Â O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15Â Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16Â Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
17Â And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
This life is hard because we live in a fallen world. We are sinful people, and we bring a lot of things upon ourselves. But thankfully, this life is short in light of eternity, and we will receive an everlasting reward for all the sorrows and tribulations of this life. Let us not give up, my friends! It WILL be worth everything! The best part of Heaven will be the presence of God.
Psalm 91
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
4Â He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
The following verses reminded me of our world today: it is full of danger and destruction, society is corrupt, and people are making dangerous choices. But our God is faithful. He gives us victory. Keep in mind that the victory might not look like we expect it to or would like it to. Victory might not be in a certain Supreme Court decision, but rather in the opportunity to talk to a member of the LGBT community and help him see that true freedom lies in following the order God has established from the beginning of time.
5Â Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6Â Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
10Â There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11Â For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12Â They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13Â Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14Â Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15Â He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16Â With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Psalm 92
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:
2Â To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
3Â Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
4Â For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
I love these verses! Every day, from the time we rise in the morning, to the time we go to bed at night (verse 2), our object in life is to bring glory to God. With this in mind, there is no better way to start and end your day than by talking to God, thanking Him for His mercies and asking for help and wisdom.
Verse 4 carries a beautiful message. Are you glad because of the work of the Lord? You should be! It is such an honor to be the hands and feet of the Master! Don’t abuse the privilege.
5Â O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
6Â A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
I put God in a box far too often, expecting Him to act and think the same way I do. That’s dangerous. God operates on a different wavelength than we often expect; from personal experience, I would say that He delights in surprising us and doing things differently from the “norm” (the human norm, that is – but He was here first, so I’m pretty sure it’s He Who determines what’s normal and what’s not). I love how God often works in ways that seem so contrary to human nature. He defies all presuppositions!
13Â Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14Â They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
15Â To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
There are so many blessings to walking with God. Our Father is faithful to reward us when we stay under His protective shelter. Why? Yet again, to bring glory to His name. Notice that verses 14 and 15 are all one sentence. The picture I get from these two verses is that we will flourish in order “to shew that the LORD is upright.”
Psalm 93
Some of the things happening in the world today are scary, but these verses remind us that God is in control. He established the order of things in the world, and He will continue to uphold them until He decides it is time to end things as we know them:
The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2Â Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
4Â The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5Â Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.
“Holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.” In my own words, “Holiness and Your house go hand in hand, Lord. There is not one without the other. It is only fitting for those in Your house to be holy.”
Be holy this week, and go through your life with the confidence that you serve a powerful, merciful God Who is upholding the world He created.
susan says
thanks, i needed some encouragement today.
on another topic: i’m taking a FB fast for Lent. It’s my 1st Lenten fast. i’m combining it with some of my dietary changes too. Please pray for me as i address these issues.
Briana Thomas says
Will do, Susan!
Brittany says
Thank you so much for the encouraging words. Lately I have been struggling with fear. I need to remember how Awesome is the God we love and serve. “Perfect love drives or fear.” Thank you again for your post. PS. I really enjoy your blog:)
Briana Thomas says
Thank YOU, Brittany! We do serve an awesome God.
Sue says
Thank you Briana. I needed to hear this today.