#44 Nov. 02, 2015
2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-‐Smith. All passages are from the NIV.
Psalm 145:8-‐9
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem (see notes). Acrostic poems are a form of wisdom literature and more than likely a mnemonic device. Acrostics use every letter of the alphabet, in this case to praise God that potentially uses all words of the language for praise. It is a hymn, God’s attributes are sung and are to be proclaimed see v.4-‐6 “one generation to another…, they will speak…, they will tell…, and I will proclaim your great deeds.” Further, Ps. 145 is the last of a series: Ps. 139 ‐ 145 that are attributed to David. The Psalm is pure praise from beginning to end; yet there is a switch of emphases in verses 8-‐9. Here it seems more personal, he is not talking about others now but what he himself has experienced.
Verses 8 and 9 become a profession of faith for David, one that we may and must identify with. “The Lord is gracious and compassionate” What could be more needed today in our condemning religious culture than God’s mercy? God is with us in our failures, our sins; He does not leave us like some who claim to be followers of Jesus. Jesus has compassion on all who struggle in this broken world! “He is slow to anger and is rich in love”. I think God’s love is deep and forever and His anger only momentary. Christ bore the brunt of that anger for us! For everyone if one only believes!
“The Lord is good to all”. Jesus said: “Only God is good” (Mt. 19:17). All, means everyone, there is no special place or person. “He has compassion on all He has made”. We do not understand given the brokenness and the misery that exists in the world today. But faith carries us through the difficult times and keeps us on track: “The Lord is good to all” believing that brings us the peace we need. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” Jn.14: 27
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