As I read Deuteronomy Chapters 3 and 4 and Psalm 36 this morning my heart filled with grateful thanksgiving. The God of the Israelites is mine and I am His. The Lord my God is a merciful God. He will not forsake me, nor destroy me, nor forget His covenant with me.
Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. As Spurgeon has said, His goodness surrounds my steps and His mercy covers my missteps.
Here are a couple of the verses that spoke to my heart as I read:
"And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.'—Deuteronomy 3:21-22
Here Moses warns the people to take heed less they forget what God had done for them. They had a possession to claim. I was reminded that with God all things are possible. He is on my side! He fights for me! Beloved…no matter what you are facing…
'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,'
Says the LORD of hosts.—Zechariah 4:6
Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.—Psalm 60:11-12
The second verse is from Deuteronomy 4…
Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you.—Deuteronomy 4:3-4
I am always encouraged when Scripture reminds us to hold fast. The Lord, as He did for the Israelites, has taken each one of us who believe out of the iron furnace of Egypt. He has brought us up out of a horrible pit and set our feet upon a rock. He established our steps and has put a new song in our mouths. Beloved, we are the redeemed of God. It is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Abide.
Oh, Father…Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows well. Help me to love you, to obey Your voice and to cling to You…for You are my life. Look into my heart. Show me those things that are not pleasing to You and lead me by your Spirit into the way everlasting. Help me to abide in You as You abide in me. This is where my fruit will be found for without you I can do nothing. Help me to carefully observe your statutes for this is my wisdom and my understanding. The beautiful words of Ruth come to mind here:
But Ruth said:
"Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me."
You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.—Deuteronomy 10:20-21
But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.—Joshua 22:5
Psalms 36
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.
An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not abhor evil.
Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise."
