Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Lord willing, I am going to be memorizing and meditating on Psalm 16 over the next few weeks. I have already been so blessed in just examining the first word!
This prayer of David's (Preserve me O God) has much precedent in Scripture...Psalm 31:23 tells us that the Lord preserves the faithful. Psalm 37:28 says that the Lord does not forsake His saints...that they are preserved forever. Psalm 97:10 states that the Lord He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Psalm 116 says the Lord preserves the simple and then goes on to say I was brought low and the Lord saved me. Finally Proverbs 2:8 says He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.
I loved reading the definition from the Strongs. "Preserve" means to root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc.: - beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man).
Wow....This is what David asks the Lord to do for him. This is what David knows the Lord does for Him...This is why David's trust is in the Lord. It wasn't about who David was or what David had done or dependent upon David at all; it was about who the Lord is. I want to know and trust with heart knowledge that the Lord of the Universe...the One who spoke the worlds into existence watches over me...hedges me behind and before, guards me, protects me, attends to me, observes me...looks narrowly at me...saves me! I want His constant regard and concern. I want Him to oversee all my doings. I want Him to search my heart so that He can lead me in the way everlasting. I don't want to miss out on a single one of His blessings here or in eternity.
Stay under the shadow of His wings, girls. There is no place you can go where He cannot find you. I am reading Psalm 139 in conjunction with studying this verse and am overwhelmed with His love and kindness toward me. Truly as it says in Psalm 139 such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain it. Give up now...surrender yourself to the One who truly cares for you. Give Him your life and watch Him work!
Love
Mom
Psalm 139
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.[c]
21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
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