Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and rich in love. Psalms 145:8 (NIV) In this verse the Psalmist recites Exodus 34:6 when Yahweh came down on Mt. Sinai and described himself to Moses. Yahweh made it clear that he was not a God who ruled by fear but by love. He was not impatient with people, looking for a way to inflict retribution on them. The Psalmist reminds us of God’s self-revelation with a cascade of adjectives designed to make us rest and rejoice in the compassionate love of God. These are God’s attitudes toward us and it is important to recall these on a regular basis. Do you think of God as gracious toward you? Do you think of God as compassionate toward you? Do you think of God as slow to anger toward you? Do you think of God as rich in love toward you? Try Continue Reading →

The upright shall dwell in your presence Psalms 140:13 (ESV) Old Testament Jews yearned to be in the presence of God. The best place in the world for them was Solomon’s Temple, where God dwelt in the holy of holies. Even though they could not enter the holy of holies, they were happy just to be in the courts adjacent to the Temple itself. To be in the courts was to be in the presence of God, and nothing was better than being near the presence of God. In his presence were joy and blessing. Under the New Covenant believers have something much better than the Temple! We have something even better than the holy of holies, which only the High Priest ever experienced. We have the presence of God inside us because we are the temple of his Spirit. Thus, we get to dwell in his presence at all Continue Reading →

The LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted Psalms 140:12 (ESV) All throughout the bible Yahweh expresses his heart of compassion for the afflicted, the needy, the oppressed and the unwanted. If you are afflicted then he will maintain your cause. He is your attorney in the trials of life, and he is the judge who rules in favor of you. You will not be afflicted forever; he will bring resurrection out of death. Consider the passages: He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring Continue Reading →

For you formed my inward parts;you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalms 139:13-14 (ESV) When God created the world, it was not his intention to govern the world by himself, or even with his angels. It was not his desire to control everything that happened on earth. He gave humans the dignity and honor of being his governors over the earth. This is what the author of Hebrews is getting at when he quotes from Psalm 8: What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Hebrews 2:6-8 (ESV) He called humans to be fruitful, rule over the earth, develop it and protect Continue Reading →

If I go up to heaven, you are there;if I go down to the grave, you are there.If I ride the wings of the morning,if I dwell by the farthest oceans,even there your hand will guide me,and your strength will support me. Psalms 139:8-10 (NIV) No matter what situation we are in, Yahweh is there with us. It may feel like he isn’t there, and we may be unable to see his influence because of all the distress, but he is with us and supports us. No matter how high from the earth we travel, even to another galaxy, he is there. Even if we descend to the place of the dead he is there. If we were to ride the morning sunbeams to the far east, he would be there. If we moved far west beyond the ocean, he would be there. We prefer to see things with our Continue Reading →