How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart. Psalm 36: 7-10, NKJV.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for taking such good care of us. Please help us to find our contentment in You. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Today we continue meditating on Psalm 36. In this psalm David seems to be comparing the everlasting goodness of the LORD to the inherent wickedness of human beings. At the beginning of the psalm it would appear that he is receiving a revelation about the evil that exists in human beings: They have no fear of God. When their evil doings are revealed to them, there is no sorrow for their sin, to the contrary – they take pride in doing wrong (flatter themselves). There is no truth in their mouths. Because of their constant wrong doing, they are no longer wise – goodness no longer appeals to them; they live to do evil. Even while lying on their beds, they are making plans to do wrong! Their evil thoughts lead them down the wrong path. They have come to love evil and hate good!
Thank God, the psalmist does not allow his mind to dwell on the wrong doings of human beings. He turns His eyes on the LORD! That is a proven exercise to strengthen one’s faith: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace” (Helen H. Lemmel). If we are ever going to have the strength that we need to make it to the “Finish Line,” we will have to keep our eyes on Jesus.
It is the loving kindness of the LORD, that “draws” us to seek refuge in Him (Jeremiah 31: 3). There is a saying that I grew up hearing as a child, “No one runs from kindness.” If that is true among human beings, it is doubly true with God! Mothers were drawn to Him. They knew that they could trust their children with Him – that He would do them only good (Luke 18: 15-17). Publicans and sinners were drawn to Him because they knew that he was “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10: 34). They knew that He would accept their invitations to table fellowship (Matthew 9: 11). He had no problem going to their homes (Luke 19: 5).
Jesus declared that He had come that we might have abundant life (John 10: 10). Sometimes I believe we do not fully appreciate what that abundance consists of. It takes in every phase of our lives. For the woman at the well, it meant that she was worth much more than just to be used to draw water from the well. I believe that is why she “left her waterpot” in the presence of the Savior (John 4: 28)! She had found her true life purpose – her abundant life was about to begin! Mary Magdalene, knew that in Christ, she too, could be a disciple. She too, could sit at the Savior’s feet, and be transformed. Therefore, she chose “that good part, which [would] not be taken away from her” (Luke 10: 42b).
Even at the eleventh hour the thief on the cross saw His last opportunity for a taste of that abundant life and seized it (Luke 23: 42, 43)! He received not only a taste of the abundant life, but more so, everlasting life! In the Father’s house there is abundance! The prodigal son knew that in His father’s house even servants ate better than he was eating; so he returned to his father’s house (Luke 15: 17-20).
The light of God’s countenance provides us with all the light we will ever need. We can never walk in darkness if we dwell in the presence of the Savior. His perfect love, His perfect forgiveness, His perfect mercy, His perfect righteousness, and the perfection of His judgment, sheds light all along our path! We not only see light in His light, we live in it! As the rays of sun provide life for all of God’s creation, we, the creatures of His hand, are renewed by the rays of light that emanate from His sinless presence.
We are blessed by the fountain of life in Him. Remember the wound that was made in His side, from which flowed water and blood? That wound brought us salvation and cleansing. Therefore, that fountain remains open for us to receive everything that we will ever need to be saved. Truly, all that we will ever need, is to be found in Jesus Christ, the Savior!