Carried forever

DEVOTION

PSALMS

CARRIED FOREVER

 Ps 28

To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. 2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. 4 Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. 5 Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again.

6 Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

8 The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. 9 Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

NIV

We can be sure we do not want to be among those David is asking the Lord not to be dragged away with. There is plenty of pain ahead for those who do evil. We have not thought too much about the fact they speak cordially with their neighbors, but harbor malice in their hearts. That is an evil thing indeed. It would be wise for us never to allow ourselves to be that kind of a person, to be that hypocritical, especially within the body of Christ, but even among the outsiders. We have to be the people whose our yes is yes and our no is no. That is truthful in all situations. That is not to say it is alright to have malice in our heart and tell someone that is how we feel toward them. We are admonished to rid ourselves of all malice.

Eph 4:31-32

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

NIV

David prays that those who do such evil will receive what they deserve, and we know that is the case, the truth is they will receive exactly what they deserve. But we lift our hands toward heaven, which means we lift our hearts to him, not just for praise, but for examination. Like David, we continually ask the Lord to examine our heart to see if there is any iniquity within, any evil thoughts or desires, any wicked way. He does and he cleanses our heart forgiving our sin, and declaring us holy and blameless in his sight. He hears our cry, our prayer seeking forgiveness and wanting his work to be done in our life. Although we are weak, he is our strength, our shield. When we turn our heart to him, when we put all our trust in him, we are helped. Our heart leaps for joy, and we will break out in song unto the Lord. It is difficult to be sad when we are singing unto the Lord. He is our strength, our fortress of salvation. He is our shepherd, the Great Shepherd and he does carry us forever. We will never be alone, we will never get lost, we will always be safe for we are carried forever.