3.9.26
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
When you board a plane and it takes off, it gives wings to your desires and takes you to places you can’t get to on your own. Think of reading the book of Psalms as boarding a plane bound for an exotic location that your soul desires to be. The words of the Psalms are the wings that lift your soul and cause it to soar through the heavens. The words of the Psalms give words to your soul and allow it to give voice to spiritual truths that are not foreign to your experience, but beyond your ability to put into words. When I read and meditate through the Psalms, I am lifted into the heavenlies, my soul beholds the beauty of the Lord, and my mind is given words to utter. The words are not like those an actor would read in order to play a role – to be memorized and then forgotten. The words are the Bread of Life and the Living Water that satisfies the hunger and slakes the thirst of my soul. The words of the psalmist become my words for the God of the psalmist is my God.
Consider Psalm 16:5 – THE LORD IS THE PORTION OF MY INHERITANCE AND MY CUP; YOU SUPPORT MY LOT.THE LINES HAVE FALLEN TO ME IN PLEASANT PLACES; INDEED, MY HERITAGE IS BEAUTIFUL TO ME.
This is not just David’s testimony – this is the birthright of all the saints. My God is just as good to me, He is just as interested in me, I am as much the apple of His eye as was David. What God has done in and for David is what He wants to do in and for me. No – I am not destined to sit on the throne of Israel (that spot is already taken)! But the same determination that God demonstrated in David’s life is the same determination, care, and favor He seeks to demonstrate in my life. The Psalms are not merely the biographical musings of the psalmists; they are the encouragements of those who have gone before us to trust the God who is above us.
When I attend an Oakland A’s baseball game at the Coliseum, I just can’t sit anywhere I want. I have a ticket which informs me which section, row, and seat I have been assigned. If I take a seat not assigned to me, I’ll be asked to move when the ticket holder of the seat arrives. Think of the Psalms as God’s seat assignment. I can take a gloomy seat in life, but then I read the Psalms and am informed that I don’t belong there – God has a seat of joy for me. I can take a shame-filled seat, but then I read the Psalms and am informed that I don’t belong there – God has a seat of forgiveness and cleansing of conscience for me. I can sit in the seat of sin, and the Psalms conduct me to the seat of God’s righteousness. The Psalms always lift me and take me to the place God has destined me to be! Indeed, as David said in Psalm 16:5, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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