This is a Psalm of thanksgiving, which becomes a teaching, almost like the proverbs, on the benefits of fearing God and shunning evil. It is a Psalm that contains the well-known verse of "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." (vs.8). A verse we most often hear in our communion liturgy. It is also the Psalm that contains what the Gospel writer John takes as a prophecy about Jesus crucifixion in verse 20: "he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken".
This morning however I want to pick up on these lesser known lines in verses 6 & 7, as I believe they hold deep truths.
This is a Psalm written by David, and so it makes for an interesting thought that he refers to himself as "This poor man…" In many other cases David would refer to himself as the king or the like, and yet here he lowers himself to the level of a poor man. It's important to note that poor does not necessarily denote one who has no possessions – rather it can mean one who is without resources to save his own life or secure his own well-being. And who knows it.
We so often in life live a lie that we are in control. We believe somehow that we have everything in hand. We write memoirs and take photos, do back-ups on our computers and have safety deposit boxes to protect the past, we take out medical aid and have security companies guard our houses to protect our present and take out life cover, house cover, dread disease and disability cover, (I am amazed by the number of different things insurance companies have come up with to 'cover') all to safeguard our future.
And so we feel safe. We feel in control. We believe we have it all together.
Yet the truth is that we have very little control over what happens tomorrow or even in the next ten minutes. While insurances and back-ups are great safety mechanisms to have in place, if we place our trust there we will fall horribly short of reality. One car accident, one fire, one phone-call… and our worlds can fall apart.
This is why our trust belongs with God. Our faith needs to be in Him and in His goodness and faithfulness regardless of the circumstances around us. God is the only unchangeable dependable force in our lives. He has the power to deliver, to restore, to heal, and to command angels to encamp around us, or hold us up in their hands when we need it.
While this may be a scary truth, the powerful reality is that we are never alone. God will never leave us nor forsake us regardless of trial or tragedy. I pray that you will base your life on this truth, recognising that we are all poor, and all in need of a God who will never let us go.
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