2019 Feb 28 Psalm 28, 106, 2Timothy 2
2019 Feb 28 Psalm 28, 106, 2Timothy 2
Welcome, with a hearty hello! Let’s pick up in Psalm 28, concluding with verses 7-9:
“7 Jehovah is my strength and my shield; In him my heart trusts. I have received his help, and my heart rejoices, So I will praise him with my song. 8 Jehovah is a strength for his people; He is a stronghold, bringing grand salvation to his anointed one. 9 Save your people, and bless your inheritance. Shepherd them and carry them in your arms forever.”
Psalm 28:7 Have you experienced this? Have you convinced your heart to place full confidence in Jehovah? Proverbs 3:5,6 says “5 Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, And do not rely on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways take notice of him, And he will make your paths straight.” Or, in all you do, think how Jehovah would have you act, and He will straighten your paths. If you have “received His help,” likely your heart has rejoiced in such an experience. Recall that the psalms are indeed songs, although full of truth and spiritual insight. Perhaps we too may be moved to sing a song that honors our loving God and Father, Jehovah.
Psalm 28:8 As we seek to please Him, we can look to Jehovah as a strength and stronghold. Proverbs 18:10 says “10 The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous one runs and receives protection.” May we maintain our hold on God’s righteousness, on the basis of our faith in Christ and his ransom sacrifice, to forgive sincerely regretted mistakes, with determination to obey God always. Having such faith in God, we may especially look for salvation into His peaceful and righteous new world, with eternal life in view. As we near the time for God’s kingdom to eliminate injustice and evil, Jesus’ words will find fulfillment when he said, at John 11:26 “and everyone who is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all. Do you believe this?”
Psalm 28:9 While Jesus is the “fine shepherd,” Jehovah is also a shepherd of His people, and His shepherding is to last “forever.” May we humbly submit to the shepherding of God and Christ, often exercised through undershepherds, or the shepherds of “older men” or elders in the Christian congregation, who are to “2 Shepherd the flock of God under your care, serving as overseers, not under compulsion, but willingly before God; not for love of dishonest gain, but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those who are God’s inheritance, but becoming examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd has been made manifest, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1Peter 5:2-4).
Psalm 106:45,46 As we recall prior, Jehovah allowed his people to be oppressed by enemies as strong punishment for their disobedience, but He would hear their cries for help and rescue them. These verses continue: “45 For their sake he would remember his covenant, And he would feel pity, moved by his great loyal love. 46 He would cause them to be pitied By all who held them captive.”
May we be moved to appreciate God’s “great loyal love,” with which He deals loyally with those who “continue loving Him.” In return, may we be faithful to Him and His commands and standards, especially as revealed through Christ. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount comprises just three chapters of Matthew, chapters 5-7, yet may contain as much as a quarter of all that God requires of true Christians. May we apply ourselves to the study of God’s word, seeking to live faithfully as genuine Christians in harmony with Christ’s commands.
2Timothy 2:1,2 Paul writes to Timothy that he would be responsible to appoint “faithful men” that will loyally teach others the truths that they and Timothy had received from Paul and others. These verses read: “1 You, therefore, my child, keep on acquiring power in the undeserved kindness that is in Christ Jesus; 2 and the things you heard from me that were supported by many witnesses, these things entrust to faithful men, who, in turn, will be adequately qualified to teach others.”
May we come to recognize and appreciate such “faithful men,” which should be appointed, not by mere human opinion, but by “holy spirit,” as they are found, with prayerful consideration, to meet the Scriptural qualifications found in Timothy and Titus, inspired by God’s holy spirit. (Acts 20:28).
Find Life and See
Between Winchester, Virginia, and hopefully, Washington D.C., having confidence that our thankful trust in God will not fail to inspire us to the peace He has purposed via His Kingdom!
