Psalm 92 Part 2
As we come to the second part of this Psalm these are the verses that have so impacted my life and my relationship with the Lord, especially over the last 7 years. The verses are verses 12-15 which say: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” As I look back over my lifetime I have always been involved in all the churches that I have attended and have enjoyed being part of that church. However, my time at Highway Church has been different, from the first time we attended almost 11 years ago we felt that this was our spiritual home and although it is a 30 minute drive I have no intention of changing. The church family has been so good to me especially when my wife of 53 years without warning went to heaven almost 8 years ago. Verse 12 says: “The righteous shall flourish”, this has been my situation, I humbly acknowledge that I am righteous through the blood of Jesus – I am no longer controlled by a sinful nature but live through the life of Jesus living in me. It is important to realize that this life is ever increasing. The verse uses the expression – flourish like a palm tree and a cedar in Lebanon. The word flourish means to thrive or to break forth as a bud and this has been my ongoing experience. The next verse says: “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the Lord”. A tree has to be planted to bear fruit, that is where we thrive – in God’s presence. The next verse has so meaning to me it says: They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.” Since the loss of my wife with the Lord’s help and direction, I have written 5 books that are reflections of my ever new relationship with the Lord. At the age of 79, I was asked to preach at a Pastor’s conference in India. The lord has opened a door for me to write a weekly blog, and I have the opportunity to post a word of encouragement regularly on FaceBook. This is such an opportunity to share the freshness of my daily walk with Jesus. The final verse gives the reason for flourishing, being fresh, and bearing fruit in one’s old age, it says: “To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him”. It is time to declare the character of our God – He is upright – He is not like Satan who cannot be trusted. It is time for us to demonstrate by the way that we live that our God is good. And finally, He is a strong foundation on which to build, and it is also, time to allow our light to shine in this dark world.