Let Me Not Wander

But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced. The Old Testament was written as an example for us. And so many times in the Old Testament we can see the two possible outcomes, according to the two different types of lifestyles. Those who choose to live according to God's way of life will be praising and rejoicing in God. All of those who choose to go the other path will be silenced.

They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. Anytime that you read through the Psalms, you will find a passage or two like this. And even though God clearly states that we are to love our enemies, sometimes it is good to keep in mind the final destination of those who do wrong.

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. Our souls are clinging to God. We are holding on, as if we are about to fall. In our minds we think that if we slip at all, it will be a disaster for sure. But all the while, God's right hand is upholding us. In my mind, I can picture holding my own sons, when they were little. They would hold on to me, as if they were about to fall. Their little fingers would dig in, grasping, clinging to my shirt or around my neck. But there is no way they would ever fall. My right hand is upholding them. My grasp on them is far greater than their grasp on me. Only in their minds are they holding themselves up. If I were to let go, they would most assuredly fall. So I hold them up. And I love every minute of them clinging to me.

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. We exist in the shadow of God. Today, as you are going through the various activities of life, remind yourself that you are under His wing. He is supporting you and protecting you every step of the way. Live like that today.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. What do you think about in the middle of the night?

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Satisfaction. This is what God offers us. The world offers this as well, but the world's satisfaction is fleeting. But in God there is complete satisfaction that is offered. The Psalmist knows it. He knows that in Christ there is complete satisfaction. Seek after true satisfaction.

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I have a hard time lifting up my hands in praise. I hate to admit that, but I do. I think that it is mostly due to being raised in a church where nobody did that. And even now, though I am in a church where people do raise their hands, I still find it hard. Sometimes when I am alone, either listening to some praise music, or when I am reading my Bible, I lift up my hands in praise. I long for the day when I can be free of any inhibitions on my praise.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. He can't help it. God's love is so amazing, so much better than anything this life has to offer, so far beyond life itself, that he cannot contain himself. His mouth pours out glory to the most amazing thing that he knows. Many times what we love the most is what we talk about the most. It is like there is this connection between our mouth and our heart. Jesus even tells us that, "...out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." If you want to know where your treasure is, ask yourself what you talk about the most.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. David wrote this Psalm while in the desert, and some commentators believe that this verse might be better understood by saying, "I have seen you in the sanctuary, and I long to behold your power and glory (here in the desert, like I saw it there!)" If you are in a desert place in your life, don't give up hope. Set aside some time today and ask God to see his power and his glory.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. We all have a thirst that can only be met by God himself. We try to quench it with other things, but ultimately, an infinite thirst can only be met with something that is infinite.