What an amazing joyful blessing this Psalm is! Believer, do you know what a blessing it is to be saved? Do you understand how privileged you are to be a child of the King? It is a magnificent honor and it is not one we are supposed to keep for ourselves. We are supposed to want it for others. We are supposed to be so much like our Lord that our love draws them to Him, that His love exemplified in our lives brings others to Him. We trust the Lord because we know Him. What can we expect from God? Verses 1-3 read,
“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!”
We know God answers us, always. We stay in constant communication with Him and when we face trouble, strife, and difficulties we can call on Him. He protects us. He saves us. He gives us peace. Calling on Jesus’ glorious name is the first act of repentance and salvation. In Romans 10:11-13 Paul put it this way when He quoted Joel 2:32
“For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Once saved, we simply do not stop calling on His name. We depend on Him entirely. We entered into a relationship, a peace with God that day. He gave us refuge in Him. But we continue calling on Him. When we deal with various situations we ask Him to lead us through. We gain His wisdom, peace, kindness, gentleness, patience, faith, and love as we continue to call on Him. And we know, when we ask that He saves. And our response to Him in love, not obligation is worship and praise. It is a continual repentance, not in shame but humility as we give up our sinful flesh and allow the Spirit to change us to be like Him. Verse 3 reads,
“May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!”
God regards sacrifice, worship, and praise with favor when they are performed from a right attitude. When He rejected Cain’s sacrifice it was not because it wasn’t as good as Abel’s. It wasn’t because it was grains and not meat. It was because Cain offered it to make himself look good. It came from pride, envy, and bitterness. Abel’s sacrifice was done in adoration of God. God knows the sincerity or the disingenuousness of our adulation. He knows what and who delights us. Verses 4-5 read,
“May he grant you your heart's desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!”
Is our joy and pleasure in the Lord and His awesome gift of Salvation? Is our heart merged with His? People love to quote Psalm 37:4, let’s read it in context. Psalm 37:3-6 reads,
“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.”
God will fulfill our joy and make us righteous. He will make our virtue evident to the world as He conforms us to His image. He will, like the loving Father He is grant us all good things and goodness. Do we really think that the contrite heart of Jesus desires a mansion with 12 bathrooms or124 pairs of designer shoes? No, the heart of God desires our hearts and the hearts of every person. Remember God doesn’t want a single soul to be lost. (2 Peter 3:9). How then can we be okay with that?
It doesn’t matter how bad the situation, God can save us from it or carry us through it. He is Salvation. No matter what the need, God can fulfill it. His grace is enough. His love is abundant. His faithfulness is constant. We do not have to run around trying to fix our problems on our own. We trust in the Lord God Almighty. We don’t put our faith in money or our hope in armies. We put our confidence in God, our All in All. Verses 6-9 read,
“Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.”
Remember, trust in God. When troubles come, call on Him. When you want more goodness in your life, call on Him. When you have needs, call on Him. When you want to be more like Him, call on Him. When you want or need anything at all, call on Him. He is enough. He is our Refuge. He is our Salvation. He is our Redeemer. He is our Provider. He is our Peace. He is our Father. He is I Am.