June
29
Psalm
80:17--Psalm 86:15
NO
GOOD THING WITHHELD
Psalm 84:2
"My soul longeth,
yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD."
It is of interest that
this psalm was written for and sung by the "sons of
Korah." Evidently some of his sons, if not all of
them, were not destroyed when God opened up the earth
back in Moses’ day (Numbers 16:30). That was a dreadful
time of rebellion. Yes, God judged Korah and his band!
So the singers and
poets from Korah’s seed lived to serve the Lord. How
blessed they were to be alive! What praise they could
utter because of it. They had seen first-hand how HOLY
the God of Israel was! Because they were spared "the
end" that their father suffered, we conclude that
they must have dwelt in separate tents than the tents of
their father--having families of their own.
Now we see in Psalm 84
one of the most beloved psalms. Music has been set to
the words. "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD
of hosts!" What beauty! What poetical praise! "My
soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the
LORD; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living
God."
These words are all
the more meaningful when we consider the rebellion of
Korah’s sons’ father. He wanted to be the leader instead
of Moses. He wanted his way instead of God’s way. How
like many of us when "push comes to shove." We do
not want to yield our wills to the will of the Almighty!
"The sparrow hath
found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself. . ."
Where were the birds nesting? They had found a perfect
place on the ALTAR OF THE LORD! What better place of
safety than that? You and I should find our contentment
and safety on the altar of Calvary. That was where Jesus
Christ, our sacrifice was slain. We, who have trusted in
His blood atonement, can rest like a birdling in its
nest. No matter the activity around us, we are safe.
The man or woman who
lives in the House of the Lord should praise God. This
speaks to me of the fellowship that believers have with
each other in a church fellowship. It is a sad state of
affairs when there are church splits and fights! Verse 5
says that a man who finds his "strength " in the
Lord is happy. The psalm says in verse 6, when such a
person passes through the VALLEY OF WEEPING (Baca),
he will turn the tears into a well. I think this is very
interesting.
Even though a person
delights in the Lord, spends time in the His House, and
finds His strength in spiritual times with God, he will
have sorrows, disappointments, and discouragement. These
human frailties and hurts bring tears. But, the man who
spends time with God, he will pour his tears into a well
like rain falling into a pool. His tears will be not be
wasted. They will be used of God to make the Believer
stronger in THE FAITH and in the FIGHT for Him.
The Sons of Korah
reached out to their God, beseeching, "O God, hear my
prayer. Give ear to my plea. O God, OUR SHIELD!" By
calling God a "shield," it is inferred that the
Believer’s life is one of battling the world, the flesh,
and the Devil. It is a constant struggle to keep our
eyes on HIM and not fall by the wayside like their
father, KORAH did in the days of old.
The psalmist could
have had a more prestigious job, but he considered being
a doorkeeper in the Lord’s House, a prize
occupation. It was so much better than living in the
"tents of the wicked." In the past, their father had
a beautiful tent–but what good did all that wealth do?
It made him more greedy for more power. It caused his
downfall and death.
Then we have the
conclusion of this wonderful psalm. THE LORD God
(Jehovah) WAS HIS SUN AND HIS SHIELD! NO GOOD THING
WILL HE WITHHOLD FROM THEM THAT WALK UPRIGHTLY! (ysw)
"ONLY A PRAYER AWAY"
There is nothing
to compare to the expanse of prayer.
If we can see
the inner action of God behind the veil,
we would see
that GOD IS ONLY A PRAYER AWAY from any one of us.
We would see how
disposed God is to answer.
We would never
doubt, never fear, never give up.
GOD HAS, SO TO
SPEAK, WIRED THE WHOLE UNIVERSE FOR PRAYER.
(Copied by GGS)
