Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
9/13 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 8-9; 2 Corinthians 2; Ezekiel 16; Psalms 58-59
Psalm 59:16
But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning.
STRENGTH
When I read imprecatory prayers as those found in Psalms 58 and 59, with verses like, “O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!” (Psa 58:6) and “You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse Yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil” (Psa 59:5), the Spirit immediately reminds me this is what you and I deserve apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Moreover, when I read of the wickedness of men and the evil of corrupt flesh, I am reminded of what we have done to Christ to send Him to the cross. Again, I repeat “what we have done” because, had you and I been there, we would have done likewise to the Son of God. Jesus, as perfect Man received greater insights into the Word than what we receive by God’s grace. He read the Scriptures with an eye upon holy truth and knew, even before He knelt to pray in the Garden, of the sinful terror in the hearts of those who conspired to kill Him: they lusted for His blood (Psa 59:2) and each “evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city” (Psa 59:6, 14), seeking food in Christ’s sufferings and death, growling as they could “not get their fill” (Psa 59:15). Yet Jesus knowing this, was still comforted in God’s redemptive plan because Christ would be strengthened enough to sing in His heart when suffering upon that terrible tree. And when the next morning came, while Joseph’s tomb had already been sealed with a stone, God’s Rock sang aloud in the presence of the Father the song of steadfast love. Yes, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame of sin He must bear in order to save; loathing the shame of sin He must bleed in order to forgive, and hating the shame of sin by which His visage was ravished, because of the joy set before Him (Heb 12:2). Let us also sing! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
As very Man, Jesus found strength
In God’s Word and His love:
Its breadth, its depth, its height, and length—
Great comfort from above.
