Michael E. Wood
July 10, 2016
Who rises up for me
against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the Lord had
not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I
thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me
up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
Psalm 94:16-19
It is absolutely amazing how many ways we can be distracted
from seeing clearly by faith things that are above. The psalmist, while longing
and crying out to the LORD God to bring an end to the wicked, is enabled to see
how God uses the wicked to bring correction to His people resulting in our ultimate
blessedness. He understood that the LORD would never forsake or abandon His
people. Martin Luther closed out his song “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” with
these words, “The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.”
As the psalmist bore witness to the murder of widows, sojourners
and the fatherless, by those who were foolish enough to think the LORD neither
sees nor perceives, he faces the immanent prospect of meeting the same end. He
is in this case delivered not only from death but from his own fears and cares by
the providence and unchanging love of our Sovereign God. In the midst of a multitude
of distractions the consolations of God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit cheer his soul. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever. Does He not bring consolation to your soul?
Frustrations, doubts, and fears arise
And cause me to forget
Priorities You give to me
And by Your Word You set
Each thing in order as You please
Beyond what I can see
For when I think, “I slip”, Oh LORD,
Your promise then will be
The truth of steadfast love upholding
Me when I would fall.
As only You could answer as
You will before I call.
And when I am distracted by
The cares which blind my eyes,
Your consolations cheer my soul
To see You are my Prize!