Tag: Psalm

Steps of a man ordered by the Lord

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on November 17, 2023. Posted in Psalms, What’s new?.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord

How are the steps of a man ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23)?

In Psalm 37, David writes that the righteous can trust God to sustain them (Psalm 37:17) and that the inheritance of righteousness will never end (Psalm 37:18). The righteous are given righteousness and salvation from the Lord (Psalm 37:39). It is a psalm that reminds us of God’s faithfulness, and it encourages us that we can trust Him and that He is worthy of our trust. In Psalm 37:23 the psalmist observes that “the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord” (BSB). Earlier in the psalm, David explains that, when we commit our way to the Lord, He will bring about our righteousness. In Psalm 37:23 David proclaims that God orders or directs even the individual steps of the person, and God takes delight in that person.

The term translated as “ordered” or “established” in Psalm 37:23 is from a Hebrew verb that can also mean “to guide, direct, or make reliable.” In other words, the person who has committed his way to God will have his steps made sure by God. He will guard them and ensure that they are solid steps. How encouraging to know that even our small, seemingly inconsequential steps are not too insignificant for God! He loves and cares for us so much that He actually takes pleasure in guiding our steps. When we fall, we won’t fall to destruction because the Lord holds our hand (Psalm 37:24). Because the law of God is in our hearts, our steps or our path won’t be slippery (Psalm 37:31). What an incredible truth to know that God is right there, ready to establish our walk if we will simply commit our walk to Him! Even more incredible, perhaps, is that He delights in doing that. To think that God—the almighty Creator—takes pleasure in walking with each of His people in that way!

David knew better than most that there would be dark days in this life—it was David who wrote that, even though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he didn’t need to fear evil because His heavenly Shepherd was with Him (Psalm 23:4). From psalms like Psalm 23 and Psalm 37 we learn that God is with us, that He delights in fellowship with us, and that we can trust Him with our very lives. Even a simple observation that the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord represents an amazing truth that we matter to God. When we are encountering hardship or difficulty, or if we simply feel alone as if no one cares about our well-being, we can have confidence in knowing that He loves us and wants to walk with us and guide us through those difficulties we face.

He will give you the desires of your heart

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on November 17, 2023. Posted in Psalms, What’s new?.

What does it mean that God will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4)?

Psalm 37:4 contains a great promise: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This verse invites us to have a deeply intimate relationship with God. As we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. To fully appreciate this promise, we must review the immediate context, unpack its meaning, and apply it to our lives.

Psalm 37, penned by King David, is a poetic meditation on the righteousness of God and the fulfillment of His promises. This psalm specifically addresses the struggles faced by the righteous in a world that is dominated by the wicked (verses 1–2). Despite these struggles, David encourages his readers to “trust in the Lord and do good” (verse 3). It is within this context that we find the promise of verse 4 that God will “give you the desires of your heart.”

To understand the promise in Psalm 37:4, we must first examine the meaning of delighting in the Lord. The word delight encompasses a profound sense of joy, satisfaction, and contentment. When we delight in the Lord, we seek His presence (Psalm 27:4), meditate on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2), and align our will with His (Romans 12:2). This involves the heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37).

When we delight in the Lord, we will experience a radical shift in our desires. In other words, we will no longer desire selfish and sinful things (Galatians 5:17–21). Instead, we will desire the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (verses 22–23). And, when we desire the same things God desires for us, our requests will be granted (Matthew 6:33 and John 14:14).

The promise in Psalm 37:4 does not imply that God is a cosmic genie who grants every fleeting whim or selfish request. On the contrary, the promise points to a definitive transformation within our heart as we draw closer to Him.

God’s response to our delight in Him is twofold. First, He shapes and molds our hearts to align our will with His. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are purged of selfishness, pride, and unrighteous desires. As we draw closer to Him, our desires will begin to mirror His desires for us, reflecting His goodness and righteousness.

Second, God will grant desires that accord with His will and glory (Romans 11:36). This does not mean that every request will be granted; rather, the desires of our heart will be fulfilled in ways that accomplish His purpose for our lives (Romans 8:28).

God’s response to our delight in Him may not always meet our expectations or occur immediately. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9), and His timing is beyond our comprehension. He may even use delays or redirections to refine our desires and strengthen our faith in Him. As we wait for God to answer our requests, we can trust that His timing is always perfect (Isaiah 40:31).

Psalm 37:4 prompts us to delight in the Lord and align our desires with His perfect will. As we cultivate a heart that finds joy, satisfaction, and contentment in Him, He will transform our desires to reflect His purposes. While the fulfillment of our desires may not always align with our expectations, we can trust in the faithfulness of God. By embracing the promise in Psalm 37:4, our lives become characterized by the fulfillment of desires that bring glory to Him.

Commit thy way unto the Lord

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on November 17, 2023. Posted in Psalms, What’s new?.

Commit your way to the Lord

What does it mean to commit your way to the Lord (Psalm 37:5)?

In the 37th Psalm, David writes that God sustains the righteous (Psalm 37:17) and that their inheritance will be everlasting (Psalm 37:18). The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord (Psalm 37:39). It is a psalm of God’s faithfulness and an encouragement that the righteous do not trust Him in vain. Psalm 37:5 challenges the reader or listener to “commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him.”

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need God to be our refuge, because there would be no threats. But in this fallen and broken world, we desperately need Him to be our refuge. The psalmist instructs that we not fret or be envious because of those who do evil (Psalm 37:1) because they will fade away quickly like the grass (Psalm 37:2). Evil has no staying power. Even though evil gains a foothold in the short term and may even appear to win the day, the reality is that it will not last. Because of that truth, we are encouraged to put our trust in the Lord and to do what He prescribes, which includes living faithfully (Psalm 37:3).

Our delight should not be in our circumstances; rather, our delight should be in the Lord. We should take pleasure in Him, and when we do that—when our desire is for Him—He provides that our desires are met (Psalm 37:4). The closer we get to Him, the more our desires begin to change from our own selfish wants to wanting what He wants for us. After presenting these thoughts, the psalmist exhorts that we commit our way to the Lord and trust in Him (Psalm 37:5). That commitment and trust does not come without reward, as God is faithful, “and He will do it” (NASB)—but what is it that He will do?

When we commit our way to the Lord and trust in Him, God is faithful to “bring forth [our] righteousness” (Psalm 37:6, ESV). When our way is committed to Him, He shapes us and grows us in His righteousness. Paul explained many years after the psalmist wrote that a person who is walking in the Spirit of God will see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in his life (Galatians 5:22–23). God will accomplish His work in our lives—He will transform us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1–2) if we will simply be committed to allowing Him to do that.

Elsewhere, Paul reminds believers to set their minds on things above (Colossians 3:1–4). The mindset of the believer is important, and it involves commitment to allowing God to do His work in us. Paul provides another example in Ephesians 5:18. He says we should not be drunk with wine, but, instead, we should be filled with the Holy Spirit. When a person drinks wine excessively, that person is submitting to a process that will end in his having little or no control over his body. Instead of submitting our bodies to wine in that way, we should be submitting ourselves to the Holy Spirit of God—immersing ourselves in His Word so that we are controlled by Him and our desires are shaped by Him. When we are doing that, we are filled with His Spirit or are walking in His Spirit, and He is faithful to bear His fruit in us. When we commit our way to the Lord (Psalm 37:5), He will make sure that way is fruitful.

God is within her, she will not fall

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on November 17, 2023. Posted in Psalms, What’s new?.

What is the significance of the statement “God is within her; she will not fall” in Psalm 46:5?

The book of Psalms—a collection of 150 poems intended to be sung—is packed with encouraging statements in times of trouble. Individual verses in the Psalms, however, are frequently subject to misinterpretation when taken out of context. This is particularly true of Psalm 46:5.

The statement “God is within her, she will not fall” is often used to encourage and uplift women facing challenging situations. When this verse shows up on social media, it is often taken as a direct message to women in adversity: “You will not fall, despite the hardship you endure, because God is in you, giving you power.” It is essential, however, to unpack the true meaning of Psalm 46:5.

The her in Psalm 46:5 is commonly assumed to refer to women in general, offering them a comforting message of resilience during troubling times. But we need to review the surrounding verses. In verse 4, the psalmist acknowledges that “there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God” (ESV). The her refers to the city of God. So, while it is appropriate to draw inspiration and encouragement from verse 5, we must not interpret that verse as a direct reference to women. Rather, we must see it as Israel’s collective praise for God’s deliverance, as depicted in Psalm 46:1–3 (cf. Psalm 48:1–3).

The heart of Psalm 46:5 is that the all-present God guarantees Jerusalem’s unshakable stability. God is always by her side, ensuring that she remains secure, even in tumultuous times. Because of God’s protection, the people of God have nothing and no one to fear: “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, ESV).

There are important parallels between Psalm 46 and the book of Kings. When the Assyrians besieged the city of God, the pagan field commander unleashed a series of taunts and threats upon the people of God. In doing so, he sought to prove that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was just as powerless as other gods in the lands conquered by the Assyrians (2 Kings 18:28–35).

During the siege, King Hezekiah sought the Lord. After receiving a menacing letter from the Assyrian king Sennacherib, Hezekiah took the letter to the house of Lord and fervently prayed for deliverance (2 Kings 19:14–19). As dawn broke, the Assyrian army found that they had lost 185,000 soldiers. During the night, an angel of the Lord had descended upon the Assyrians, putting a swift and decisive end to their terror (2 Kings 19:35). Jerusalem was saved.

God had predicted the defeat of the Assyrians through the prophet Isaiah: “This is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. . . . I will defend this city and save it’” (2 Kings 19:32, 34). In other words, God is within her, she will not fall.

The Assyrian invasion of Israel provides the historical backdrop for Psalm 46:5. Amid perilous circumstances, the psalmist’s words take on new significance. The vindicated faith of Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem is a testament to the almighty power of God. God is an impenetrable fortress, a divine shield against evil forces:

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:1–3)

Psalm 46:5 is a powerful reminder that God’s power and protection are not confined to a specific gender or individual. He is with His children. Psalm 46:5 refers to the city of Jerusalem, and today we can trust that God has the same protective love for the church of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus. When we are besieged by various trials and tribulations, we can remain hopeful, knowing that God will never leave or forsake us (Romans 8:31; Hebrews 13:5).