“The Lord is gracious and
righteous; our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.” Psalm 116:5-6
There
are some interesting words in these two verses; words that speak of God’s
character. He is gracious, which means
the Lord is kind and warmly courteous.
It also means God is merciful and compassionate. We have seen that in our own salvation. Psalm 145:8 reiterates this element of the
Lord’s character: “The LORD is merciful
and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.”* This is reserved for those who seek
Him. The Lord is with His people. He doesn’t stand at a distance when they
suffer. God is compassionate to all, but
those who are His own know the full measure of His grace and mercy for He has
saved them from their every sin.
God
watches over His children and protects those of us who are not alert to danger
or problems. In other words, they don’t
see trouble coming at them. Knowing God
is always watching us enables us to serve the kingdom without fear. Rather than anticipating calamity, we can tap
into God’s peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
The 23rd
Psalm paints a picture of Christ as the Good Shepherd who watches over His
flock. When we are in trouble Christ
saves us, even as He saves the sheep that got himself caught in a thistle
bush. That is the image I receive when I
see verse 6. We have been compromised, yet
the Lord will come to us with His rod and staff and bring us comfort. (Psalm
23:4) Trust the Lord under all
circumstances and rely on Him to never change, for He never will. Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
Resources:
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language; The Reformation
Study Bible.
* Translation used: New Living Translation (NLT)
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