October 3, 2011
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Embittered, pricked in heart? Go into the sanctuary of God (Psalm 73)
Psalm 73
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.We live in a fallen world.
We will all face situations that will prick our hearts and tempt us to be bitter.
How did the Psalmist move beyond his bitterness?
How did the Psalmist move beyond his brutishness, ignorance and beastliness toward the Lord God to a firm assurance of God's goodness and sufficiency resulting in adoration and praise?
Look back to verses 16-17a:
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God...If you are feeling like the Psalmist, if you are wearied and can make no sense of your current circumstances, run to the sanctuary of God and make Him your refuge. There is no true and lasting goodness apart from being near Him.
And afterwards, when you do taste and see He is good, go and tell of all His works!
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
Related:
my posts tagged broken heart
year end reflections, # 1: "end of the year ... in the midst of heartache" | Letter 97 on joy
year end reflections, # 2: rejoicing in "The Often Unwanted but Necessary Gift" | Letter 98 on joy
Where do you go when the world is unlovely? (Psalm 84 & the theology of Biblical counseling)
Letter 20 on assurance and fighting for joy (sunk into the arms of sovereign grace)
Shall we not drink the cup the Father has given us? (Letter 53 on assurance & fighting for joy)
"he constrained his disciples to get into the ship" (Letter 65 on assurance & joy)
Third Sunday of Advent: His Kingdom is unshakable even when we're being shaken
Lessons from the Slurry Wall: "What Remains When Everything Else Falls Down"
when we're being shaken: let us look unto JESUS!
Kingdom-Obsessed People don't keep looking in the rear view mirror at past hurts, # 5
Are you keeping calm & carrying on? Do you react or respond? ~ Isaiah 7:1-9
All things (even bad things) work together for good...
Our Twisted View of God
"So you led your people to make for yourself a glorious name" (Isaiah 63:14b)
God's sovereign grace & care in Genesis (the story of Joseph)
Whitefield's prayers: more reminders of God's sovereign grace & care
"And Jacob was left alone" ~ Don't waste your loneliness
one Friend alone | letter 100 on assurance & fighting for joy
the children of God will never say of Him: "Got stood up big time!"
Lenten Reflections: When he broke all supply of bread (My breaking is for your blessing)
Do you love the saints . . . ALL the saints? (reflections on church hurts)
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for . . . (Letter 30 on assurance & fighting for joy)Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Comments (6)
The wonderful grace of Jesus - greater than all my sin. How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall my praise begin? (from an old gospel song)
His grace and the tears of joy wash away the bitterness.
Yes, however long we must tarry in the sanctuary before we know His peace, it is worth it.
My feet had almost slipped too.
You truly are salt that never loses its saltiness.
@quest4god@revelife - Oh, yes, my feet also, my brother. But He would not let me rest, my soul was restless and His grace drew me to His sanctuary!
Amen - however long IS worth it!
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto ME, and eat ye that which is GOOD, and let your soul DELIGHT itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto ME: hear, and your soul shall LIVE; and I will make an EVERLASTING covenant with you, even the SURE mercies of David.
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is FULNESS of JOY; at thy right hand there are PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE.
Psalm 131.
@EthanHelm - Thanks, brother, but there are times I am far, far less than salty and like the Psalmist, quite brutish and foolish, but God's mercies continue to pursue me and draw me back to His sanctuary ~ Psalm 65:4. In the past couple years God has become my portion and my exceeding joy; I'm absolutely miserable anywhere else. He has put the Psalmist's song into my heart:
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
@naphtali_deer - You remind me of Brother Lawrence. Have you read Practice in the Presence of God?
@EthanHelm - That's a book I've started a couple different times but never finished. Perhaps I'll put it into the queue again.
I know there are times when I've had books that I just am not able to carry through with reading and so I put them aside until later. That same thing happened to me w/ Pilgrim's Progress, but finally I was enabled to read it a couple years ago now, and in retrospect could see that I wasn't really ready to read it before that time, since I wouldn't have been able to relate to many of Christian's experiences/temptations/trials.