Psalm 25 ~ friendship of the LORD

David dances as the Ark comes in

Psalm 25 ~ Of David

David Cochran Audio, English Standard Version

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

⁶ Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

¹¹ For your name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
¹² Who is the man who fears the Lord?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
¹³ His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
¹⁴ The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸ Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
²⁰ Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.

²² Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.

And also

Luke 6:20-28

²⁰ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹ “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

²² “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! ²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

²⁵ “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶ “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Ennui. Lust for Life. Sorrow. Heaven. Hell. And the Eternal Kingdom of the LORD. ~ We all have it. Just as the Scriptures one day point out how much God loves us and then next point out that we just need the grace only God our Savior can give us. We can read about David and feel jealousy for all of His blessings and for the attention God bestows upon Him. His assurance. Comfort. Drama Queen. Reading the Scriptures pulls up emotion. Hopefully.

Why aren't people captivated with the Scriptures? They aren't taking the time to even glimpse what it is. Too busy flying by with 90 different situations, buzzers and it's all going on at once. Not relating to what is important because not relating is So Much Easier.

How are we going to call - to recruit - to save them. We aren't. Salvation isn't up to us. It is God's work. God's plan. We should not presume to be God. God in His mercy - listens with compassion and humor to our prayers/plans. God alone judges us with perfect vision.

Recently my mom visited and I was treated to a dose of TV Evangelical. (Which I did enjoy.) Then I escaped - they went to visit friends - and heard Radio Christianity I would deem authentic with a dose of harshness. And a good sermon. Church for Worshiping God and finding compassion for all of us and the elderly in their weaknesses. It is always in God's mind -what we should be interested in - who we are and where we are going.

We all come from a different place in our lives. Young, old, Middle agers. And to some certain level we all have some intrigue in our lives. Sometimes it is so much intrigue - it becomes old. It makes us worn out and not fruitful. We loose the vision of who we are and what we value. Where we are going. Intrigue just becomes spin.

And speaking of getting old - we are all going somewhere. It is up to us to decide what is important and how to prioritize it. We are all invited to leave this planet -where will we be in 50 years - make the choices count. Be thoughtful. Become people that not only the LORD can be proud of, making ourselves pleased with the people we become.

The Bible isn't really just for our enjoyment. It is reverent words - asking us to become deeper people. If it causes discomfort - we need to examine why. If the Bible causes us to be bored - we may just have very shallow roots. When we are judgmental - not to fall into self love. When we manipulate the Bible for our own meanings - we need to ask the LORD to forgive us. The goal is to be David waiting upon the Lord and loving the people given to him - not Solomon - who demanded his own way a lot. David's life was believing God wanted more for him - even when circumstances said not. And David believed he was there to serve God and lived to do so.

God has chosen me to be His child. I honor God by loving Jesus Christ and remembering He is GOD.

God is for us. We need to be for God. It's really the point.


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