Encouragement from Psalm 19

Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O LORD! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.” Psalm 25:6-8, 11, 16-18

1 John 1

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Q.

What is your only comfort in life and death?

A.

That I am not my own,

but belong with body and soul,

both in life and in death,

to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins

with his precious blood,

and has set me free

from all the power of the devil.

He also preserves me in such a way

that without the will of my heavenly Father

not a hair can fall from my head;

indeed, all things must work together

for my salvation.

Therefore, by his Holy Spirit

he also assures me

of eternal life

and makes me heartily willing and ready

from now on to live for him.

Father would you show us yourself so that as we face the coronavirus, age, distress, we could with courage be yours, and be for the world that you so love. Send your Holy Spirit who inspired this text to write it on our heart, mind, and soul.

This feels so odd having church without the people. And yet it is where we have prayerfully followed God’s call. As we take care of each other by isolation, may we keep connected and keep the joy shared among our family. Please call each other, laugh, explore hope, pray, tell of the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and encourage each other. Let us tell of our distress, and triumph. All this can still happen for us far better than those in prison. So as we are here let us think of them, and pray for them, that they may see Jesus.

Today I’m taking us out of Genesis to explore God’s word as purpose and comfort for us now. I want to explore briefly a few things I have seen being used online in scripture lately to grasp the full depth of hope they offer.

Psalm 91. These words are epic! They are used by Satan to tempt Jesus. These words have rattled in my head, memorized for many years now. They do apply to us, but only in Jesus. I think if we consider these the protection of God for the sinless we see them as they speak most truly. Thank goodness for us, Jesus denied this comfort so He could save us, so that we could have the comfort in the new heavens and new earth. Use these words to be strengthened, but do not think they are promises with cause and effect directed at you. We have not stood before the judgment seat yet washed by the blood of Jesus. When we have, these promises will be so grand! Today they let us see a glimpse of what it would be like if we have found our origin in God.

2 Chronicles 7:13-16. May these words be! They are a promise to Israel, not America. May America repent! If we were to repent this promise wouldn’t necessarily apply to us. If only we would repent. We aren’t waiting for a time with peace in our land. We are waiting for Jesus to come again. We aren’t in peace when the coronavirus is defeated. Peace comes from our King Jesus Christ. Surely he can wipe out all that harms us. Look to 2 Peter 3:8-16. God’s patience in coming back means salvation. We face all the terrors in our life now, so salvation may come to more people! That’s how salvation came to us. Our Salvation is not that our country could be made great again, nor is it that we could accomplish a progressive agenda. Our salvation is in Jesus Christ. Our Jesus is already great, and He alone truly cares for the broken. Let us follow Him.

The text for today is Psalm 19.

Read Psalm 19.

We have already gone through it in the last year, but it fits so well for comfort I couldn’t resist dwelling in these words again. Remember from Ephesians that the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, is a spoken word. Let us speak these words of God as they fill us. Psalm 91, and 2 Chronicles 7 also. Let us find our hope in Jesus Christ, not in an accomplishment we can grasp. Let us be the children of such a King!

These words lead us to see that there is a purpose for the things of God’s creation. They bring him glory through doing what he made them for. We see this with the sun. The sun runs the race God has given it day by day. So where do we find God’s purpose for us? God’s law. God’s law shows His righteousness and glory. And when we dwell in the law we know our need for God. The law of God leads us to ask who am I, how can I be yours, oh Jesus? The law moves us to seek the grace of God, to see the face of God, to find ourselves in God.

We can’t obey the law. But we can use the law to know how to be ourselves, how to be the redeemed. The law shows us who God created us to be. How to be His children? It is precious. One could say the whole purpose of the law has been to prepare us to see Jesus.

May we now see Jesus. Take comfort in His love for you now. Walk in His ways, just as the Sun does. Just as the watchman waiting for the dawn we expect the sun to run its race, and so may we do what God leads us to do facing the coronavirus.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Let our race to Jesus keep such delight, even as we face the coronavirus, isolation, pandemic, or the usual amount of difficulty in our lives.