January 8th
THE PSALMS
Theme: Enjoy His protective love.
Background: David finds relief from the wicked.
THE PSALMS
Psalm 36
Psalm 36
Psalm 35-38
You let them drink from your river of pleasure [delights].
You are the giver [ fountain] of life. Your light lets us enjoy life.
Psalm 36:8-9, The Expanded Bible
Theme: Enjoy His protective love.
Background: David finds relief from the wicked.
36:5 “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”
The Message Bible reads, “God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, his purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.” This captures a sense of God’s ‘hesed’ (steadfast love) which connotes something deeper than just His love, kindness, or mercy, but is relational, practical, and enduring all at the same time; perhaps a near equivalent of grace in the NT.36:7-9 “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge … feast … drink from the river of your delights … life.”
Has this been your experience? You turn to Him with your hot problems and find relief in the shade of His wings. Not only does he provide a refuge but an abundant feast, which may be an allusion to the communion meal shared with God; today, like sharing in the body of Christ (Lev 7:15; Jer 31:14). Not only that, but He invites us to drink of “the river of His delights” (literally, ‘river of his Eden’). He shares with us what brings Him delight, spiritual truths relating to His Son and grace. When under duress we could easily turn to our delights; things bringing selfish pleasures: over-eating, excessive drinking, or an addiction. Let us more and more enjoy what God enjoys. He shares Himself with us: His divine life, eternal life in Christ.______________________________
Enjoy the things that God enjoys.
Enjoy the things that God enjoys.
