(Psalm 106:1-13)
1 Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.
2 Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can proclaim all His praise?
3 How blessed are those who maintain justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, Lord, in Your favor toward Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation,
5 So that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
That I may boast with Your inheritance.
6 We have sinned like our fathers,
We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,
But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,
So that He might make His power known.
9 So He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
And He led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.
10 So He saved them from the hand of one who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.
13 They quickly forgot His works;
They did not wait for His plan,
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.
2 Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can proclaim all His praise?
3 How blessed are those who maintain justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, Lord, in Your favor toward Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation,
5 So that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
That I may boast with Your inheritance.
6 We have sinned like our fathers,
We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,
But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,
So that He might make His power known.
9 So He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
And He led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.
10 So He saved them from the hand of one who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.
13 They quickly forgot His works;
They did not wait for His plan,
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
We all want the best. At the very least, for ourselves. But do we understand that when we want the best for others, this will help us in achieving that for ourselves. And when we understand that God is good, and in His goodness, He wants the best for all of us, we will trust that when we do things His way in His will, things will work out for good! When we embrace God's goodness, and understand what it is that He deems as good, we will be blessed with the best goodness possible.
Verses 4-5 is what we should strive towards with our Christian brothers and sisters. Like David, we should be praying for our fellow believers that they experience a steadfast, fruitful and joyful walk with the Lord. As well, we should be praying that the Lord helps us live in such a way, in His love, kindness and strength, that we will be able to thrive in a joyous communion with Him, and each other. Together, we should be boasting in the Lord, sharing the wonderful good news of His salvation as the Lord gives us opportunity. He will make it happen and bless us in all of this.
God is so good, there isn't one person who could capture that in words which would do that justice. And all the books in the world could not contain a record of every amazing thing He has done. Yet we can so easily and quickly forget about God and His goodness as we rush headlong into things.
Why are we always in such a rush? We tend to want what we want - and we want it all right now! But this is what usually gets us into trouble, whether it is to fill a desire, or seek retribution. So when we think we want something, it benefits us to remember God's abundant power, wisdom, faithfulness and kindness. If we ask and the answer is "no" or "wait", we should realize that it is for our own good.
Waiting on the Lord does take patience, but we can ask God to give us patience. And waiting on the Lord does take trust, but we can know God is trustworthy. We can even ask God to help us trust Him more! "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!" Whatever we are going through, there is something for us to learn and grow from, all in the Lord's strength. And when things are going well, remembering that He is good and that He wants good things for us will inspire us to continue living and striving in His will.
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