God's Protection and Preservation

My apologies for the formatting especially in my illustration. I am not sure how it will appear on your phone or computer. I worked all evening to make it somewhat coherent to understand. It really looks good in my Word document but I couldn't get it to look the same in this format. So I did my best. I hope it makes sense.

Journal Entry from July 20, 2017

Worship: One Thing Remains as sung by Kristian Stanfill


Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant in the trial and the change
This one thing remains

Your love never fails, it never gives up
It never runs out on me

On and on and on and on it goes
Yes it overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
This one thing remains

Your love never fails, it never gives up
Never runs out on me

In death, in life
I'm confident and covered by the power of Your great love
I know my debt is paid
There's nothing that can separate my heart from Your great love

Your love never fails, it never gives up
It never runs out on me

On and on and on and on it goes
Yes it overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
This one thing remains

Your love never fails, it never gives up
It never runs out on me

Your love
It’s Your love
God, I know
Your love is never ending
Your love is never failing
It’s Your love
Your love

Publishing: (c) 2010 Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP) / Christajoy Music (BMI) (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing) / Mercy Vineyard Publishing (ASCAP)
Writing: Brian Johnson, Christa Black Gifford and Jeremy Riddle

Lyrics: http://www.klove.com/music/artists/kristian-stanfill/songs/one-thing-remains-lyrics.aspx

Video: https://youtu.be/GoYgi0sdOqc


Witness:

The headlines in the news are disturbing. Accusations and counter accusations hurled back and forth between the media and the president. Wars and rumors of war. There is injustice in the courtroom and on the streets. Foolish and unguarded statements made by people who are our leaders and should know better. These are unsettling times for sure. My stomach sometimes gets tied up in a knot over these things. My life is burdened by the situation with my wife; the various crisis’s being experienced by my family and friends; and financial debt on which I can’t seem to make progress. If my life could be viewed as a scale, in which my circumstances, life experiences, and current events were placed on one side. And my actions, attitudes, and responses on the other side. Placing these unsettling times and burdens onto the scale could tip the balances and cause my life to become joyless and powerless, except for one thing, God’s love. His love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). It never ends (Ps. 25:6, 103:17). Nothing can separate me from His love (Rom. 8:31-39).

When I meditate on this - when I worship the One who is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2), who never changes (Psalm 102:27, Heb. 13:8), who by nature is love (1 John 4:8,16). How can I not believe that He will rescue me and all believers in Christ from anything that this world which is passing away, throws at us? When all seems lost, and the burdens of this life weigh heavily on our souls, so much so that the scale should come crashing down in misery and destruction, the love of God weighs in and tilts the scale towards joy. 

 

                           GOD
                              ↓
                         Actions

                        Attitudes
                       Responses



    DESPAIR                              JOY

                    Circumstances
                  Life Experiences
                    Current Events
                                ↑
                            GOD  
                                             

Let us remember that our God undergirds our life and all circumstances and events And He is Lord over our actions, attitudes, and responses.

Someone has sung this song:

Who knows what tomorrow brings
In a world few hearts survive
All I know is the way I feel
When it's real, I keep it alive

The road is long
There are mountains in our way
But we climb a step every day

Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry
On a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world below
Up where the clear winds blow

Songwriters: Jack Nitzsche / Buffy Saint-Marie / Will Jennings

Up Where We Belong lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

But I know Who that love is:

You alone know what tomorrow brings,
In a world where few hearts survive.
All I know is the way I feel,
And if it's real, I'm gonna keep it alive.

'Cause the road is long,
There are mountains in our way,
But yet we'll climb still higher everyday.

Chorus:
Lord, lift us up where we belong,
Where the eagles fly
On a mountain high.
Lord, lift us up where we belong,
Up from the world we know,
Where the clear winds blow.

(As sung by BeBe & CeCe Winans)

It’s the 22^nd and I have just put the finishing touches on my witness entry above. As I meditated on what I had written, a song was coming to the end that was playing on my computer. Here are the lyrics that came crashing into my consciousness.

His love endures
Forever His love endures
Forever His love endures
Forever and ever

Songwriters: BEN FIELDING
The One Who Saves lyrics © CAPITOL CMG GENESIS

https://youtu.be/jPGWG8O5XcA

And as if to put the icing on the cake, a song is playing now which speaks of God’s unending love. Notice the similar title to this song with the song I have quoted above. I’ve highlighted them for you to see.



There is no height or depth
neither life nor death
That can take me from all that I find
Here now in Your glory Lord



No others powers or love
The things of now or to come
There's nothing on earth in this life
That could ever separate us Lord



Your love is never ending
To Your hands we surrender
Where all our sins are washed away
Your grace beyond reason
Has paid for our freedom
We're made alive in You


We run to Your throne
Where we belong
Every heart will sing
That Jesus is Lord
Casting all else aside
For the joy of our Christ
Let Your glory fall
Our hearts are filled with Your fire

Songwriters: JOEL DAVIES, REUBEN MORGAN
Where We Belong lyrics © Capitol CMG Genesis

WORD:

Ps 26:8-27:1 8 I love the house where you live, O Lord,                the place where your glory dwells.                        9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,                             my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,                 whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I lead a blameless life;                 redeem me and be merciful to me. 12 My feet stand on level ground; in the great          assembly I will praise the Lord.                                                    NIV (’84)

Ps 26:8-27:1 8 I love your sanctuary, Lord,                 the place where your glorious presence dwells. 9 Don't let me suffer the fate of sinners.                 Don't condemn me along with murderers. 10 Their hands are dirty with evil schemes,                 and they constantly take bribes. 11 But I am not like that; I live with integrity.                So redeem me and show me mercy. 12 Now I stand on solid ground,                and I will publicly praise the Lord.                                                                                                      Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Ps 26:8-27:1 8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. 9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: 10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. 11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. 12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord. KJV

Ps 26:8-12 8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house                 and the place where your glory dwells. 9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,                 nor my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are evil devices,                 and whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;                 redeem me, and be gracious to me. 12 My foot stands on level ground;                 in the great assembly I will bless the Lord. ESV

I have taken some time to look at this final verse. I have combed the commentaries, and there are two primary streams of thought on this verse, but there were some exceptions.

Some see this as referring to safety.

Lange Commentary says:

My foot standeth upon the plain, [A. V., even place].—The plain is not a figure of righteousness but of safety. [Perowne: “His prayer has been heard. He is safe. He stands in the open, level table-land, where he has room to move, and where his enemies cannot hem him in…
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/lange/psalms/26.htm

A variation on this theme is given by Ellicott:

My foot standeth.—It seems more in accordance with the general drift of the poem to take this verse, When I stand in an even or level place [i.e., when I am rescued from the difficulties which now beset me] I will praise Jehovah in the congregation.
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/psalms/26.htm

 Others see it as referring to uprightness. Benson says it could refer to safety or to David’s walk of integrity:

Psalm 26:12. My foot standeth in an even place — Hebrew, במישׁור, bemishor, in rectitude. I stand upon a sure and solid foundation, being under the protection of God’s promise and his almighty and watchful providence. Or the sense may be, I do and will persist in my plain, righteous, and straight course of life, not using those frauds and wicked arts, and perverse and crooked paths, which mine enemies choose and walk in. And, thus understood, it is the same thing with his walking in his integrity, expressed in the foregoing verse and Psalm 26:1.
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/psalms/26.htm

There are variations in the interpretation and application of the phrase “my foot stands” (ESV) or “My feet stand”(NIV). The literal translation is “foot” singular. I’m not sure if there is any significance in “feet” or “foot” here. One website makes a big deal out of this saying that David was saying he was standing on one foot and thus he still needed the Lord’s steadying hand to hold him up. While that is true, I don’t think that is what David is trying to emphasize here. There is a confidence David proclaims here. He is sure he stands on a level place.

As to which of the above interpretations is right perhaps there is room for both. However, in light of the contrast between David and the company of the wicked, as well as David’s emphasis on his walk of integrity, I believe that if there is any protection involved, it is the preservation of his integrity.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary says:

Though the psalmist is still suffering from some adversities, he knows that the one who loves him will not permit his feet to stumble. Therefore he says that his “feet stand on level ground” (cf. 27:11; 143:10). His confidence is in the Lord’s ability to keep him. Because of God’s love, he stands on “level ground.” The word mîšôr (“level ground,” “uprightness”) contains a wordplay by the association with the affirmation of his integrity. Even though he claims to stand on “level ground,” the psalmist is at the same time saying that he is standing, i.e., continuing in his integrity. Thus he properly connects the doctrine of the assurance of salvation with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. His confidence is in the Lord.(The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Copyright 1991, p. 242)