As we continue with this Psalm it is good to be reminded of its title ‘Praise to God for His salvation and providence’. Remember that ‘Providence’ means ‘God’s care for us’. Verse 4 says: “Blessed is the man that You choose, and cause to approach you, that he may dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, of your Holy temple”. As I write this blog I am writing with mixed emotions because yesterday was 9 years since the love of my life finished her life’s journey and went to heaven. I can join with David and thank the Lord for His salvation and for the way He has protected me. I am a blessed man because I live daily enjoying God’s salvation in my life. Also, I am satisfied with the goodness of God that I have experienced over my lifetime. I am so glad that I belong to Jesus and to be reminded of His great love for me. During this time I have learned to enjoy His presence, His presence has sustained me and the more I experience it the more I want it. Verse 5 says: “By awesome deeds in righteousness you will answer me, O God of our salvation. You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and the far-off seas “. David in this verse tells of God’s reward in his life because he put God first in the way that he lived. We can all identify with this sentiment because as we pause and look back over our lives with the Lord there have been so many times that the Lord has awesomely provided for us. This is something that we do not do often enough, there is a danger that we can get caught up in the pressures of life and forget to remind ourselves daily of how great is our salvation. The Psalmist declares that God’s salvation is everywhere, there is no place on the earth where you cannot experience His salvation. The Psalmist continues in Verse 6 “Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power”. Every day is an opportunity to be in awe of God’s creation, the only way that we can do this is to slow down and become aware of the greatness of His creation. Psalm 19:1 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork”. God’s goodness is all around us if we take the time to remember that we are God’s creation and live in a world created by Him. In this new year may we choose to pause and be overcome by what He has provided for us. Because it is so easy to allow the way that we live to dominate our thinking and we forget to be thankful for all the blessings and strength we receive from the Lord every day of our life. We are so blessed because we have been chosen by God to experience His salvation.
Understand fully Ian. Trevor and I buried our son yesterday, and although emotionally exhausted we were able to put across to others attending funeral that there is hope we don’t have to stay in distress because God is our strength in these times.