For Ever and Ever

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FOR EVER AND EVER

Ps 145:17-21

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

NIV

What is true of the Lord cannot be said about man. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, but mankind is not. The Lord is loving toward all he has made. Mankind hasn’t made anything, as well as mankind cannot say it is loving all the time. God is loving toward us all the time. His love is demonstrated in so many ways, most importantly in what Jesus did on the cross and in being resurrected. Without the resurrection there is nothing. What good is having all our sin forgiven if there is no resurrection? If when we die, we are just dead, and our bodies simply decay in the grave forever, why bother having our sin forgiven. Why bother trying to live in a manner pleasing the Lord, in fact, why brother believing at all? But there is a resurrection, Jesus was the first of many. The Lord is near us and we do believe and do want to live to please him, because is he near. He is real, he is true, he is loving, and he is there for us who call upon him in truth. He fulfills our desires because we fear, we reverence him. Some might think this fulfilling our desires is God being like a genie in a bottle. If we rub him the right way he gives us whatever we desire. In the Hebrew it is more like, the delight of them who fear him, he fulfills. If we delight ourselves in the Lord we are fulfilled. We have to always remember if we have some desire it has to be the Lord, or within the Lords will. We are have not because we do not ask or because we ask with wrong motives. We are not to expect God to fulfill every one of our whims or fancies that we would spent on our selfish wants. But he does fulfill our desires of knowing him more, or wanting more of him in our life and wanting what he wants for us. The greatest desire of our heart is to live forever, to know life, rather than to simply die and never know we ever lived. Therefore the Lord fulfills our greatest desire to live for all eternity. He has given eternal life. What more could we ever desire more than that? We cried out to him and he saved us. Then to make it even better, he watches over us, because we love him. He keeps us in the palm of his hand. He provides for us in so many material ways, it is difficult not to recount all of them over the years, they are forever before us. He is there with us throughout our life, watching over us. But that is not true of those who do not love him, but rather despise him through their living in wicked ways. They will come to an end, they will be destroyed, and they will perish, as not live forever. But we will use our mouth, not to lift up the ways of wickedness, but to praise the Lord. We will speak of his mighty deeds, his mighty power, and his love whenever we can, wherever we can, through the power of the Spirit, we will also have praise on our lips for the Lord. It would be such a great world is all creatures would praise the Lord. But one thing is certain, this creature will praise his holy name for ever and ever.