"O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plenteous redemption....-"
Psalm 130: 7, RSV
Our happiness as Christians lies in God doing what He pleases,....when He pleases. Our misery is in God doing what we please, because we will have no other. We have got to learn as Christians to let God be God.
Now it is a tremendous thing when we Christians can take our hand off the tiller, and trust God to be God. Does that seem a shocking thing to say?
No; so great is the pride and wickedness of our hearts, that we imagine we can do these things more wisely and better than He can. What a tremendous relief it is, and what a joy it is, to let God be God. As an old writer says on this Psalm, 'We can afford to let God be God, because He has three wonderful companions with Him'
His first companion is mentioned in verse 4, 'With Thee is forgiveness.' The other two companions are mentioned in verse 7, 'With Thee Lord there is steadfast love': and with Him is His third companion, 'plenteous redemption' That is a delightful phrase; but I think here the New English Bible puts it rather more powerfully. Listen to the New English Bible describing these two friends; 'For in the Lord is love unfailing, and great is His power to set men free.'
Psalm 130: 7, RSV
Our happiness as Christians lies in God doing what He pleases,....when He pleases. Our misery is in God doing what we please, because we will have no other. We have got to learn as Christians to let God be God.
Now it is a tremendous thing when we Christians can take our hand off the tiller, and trust God to be God. Does that seem a shocking thing to say?
No; so great is the pride and wickedness of our hearts, that we imagine we can do these things more wisely and better than He can. What a tremendous relief it is, and what a joy it is, to let God be God. As an old writer says on this Psalm, 'We can afford to let God be God, because He has three wonderful companions with Him'
His first companion is mentioned in verse 4, 'With Thee is forgiveness.' The other two companions are mentioned in verse 7, 'With Thee Lord there is steadfast love': and with Him is His third companion, 'plenteous redemption' That is a delightful phrase; but I think here the New English Bible puts it rather more powerfully. Listen to the New English Bible describing these two friends; 'For in the Lord is love unfailing, and great is His power to set men free.'
