Although these psalms are really full and rich with a lot of great spiritual insights, the one theme that struck me in today’s reading was the certain kind of fearlessness that the psalmists wrote about.
Psalm 25 starts off with a fearless offering of his soul to the Lord. Soul in these contexts are not just lifting up one’s praise with all one’s might — the way we tend to understand such a phrase but rather a lifting up of one’s own life to the LORD. This isn’t just about a worship service or great song or a prayer of great praise — occasional giving of oneself to the LORD — but an offering of one’s whole self, one’s whole life, one’s time and talents and purposes. Where does that sort of commitment and fearless offering of oneself come from? It comes from a real appreciation of who God is, appreciation for what He has done for us, His love, His sacrifice, and all that He is. Once we at least get a glimpse of this, we can confidently lift our souls to Him in a honest living sacrifice — Romans 12:1,2.
One other thing that I found fascinating in this passage is v. 14 — “The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.” The side notes observe that it could be translated as possibly the counsel or intimacy. I kind of like the translation of “secret”, since it is not uncommon for the worldly and disobedient to look at the good fruit — a clear conscience, a good marriage, better results with children, a good reputation, peace in the face of death, etc. — of the righteous and wonder “How?” It’s one of the “secrets” hidden in plain sight that becomes obvious only after one comes to truly fear the LORD.
Moving on to Psalm 26 we see some real courage! “Examine me, LORD.” Would you have the courage to invite such an examination? Yet, we ought to know, when we’re living right; when our hearts are resisting temptation; when our words are being spoken boldly, truthfully, and kindly; when we’ve been truly trying to follow Jesus.
Finally, Psalm 27 expresses the confidence and courage that the child of God can feel and live. We are so often driven by fear of all the wrong things: the opinions of other, tomorrow’s job situation, the moves of those that we don’t trust (enemies), sickness, imperfections, and more. The one thing we ought to fear is the LORD and if we’ll do that all the other fears tend to fade and pass away into dim obscurity. Interesting isn’t it? If we fear the right Person, we have perfect security. Who do you fear? Who should you fear?
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
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About parklinscomb
I'm a minister for the Rock Hill church of Christ in Frisco TX (rhcoc.org) where I've worked since 2020. I'm a big fan of my family, archaeology, the Bible, and the Lord's church.
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A Certain Fearlessness — Psalm 25-27
Although these psalms are really full and rich with a lot of great spiritual insights, the one theme that struck me in today’s reading was the certain kind of fearlessness that the psalmists wrote about.
Psalm 25 starts off with a fearless offering of his soul to the Lord. Soul in these contexts are not just lifting up one’s praise with all one’s might — the way we tend to understand such a phrase but rather a lifting up of one’s own life to the LORD. This isn’t just about a worship service or great song or a prayer of great praise — occasional giving of oneself to the LORD — but an offering of one’s whole self, one’s whole life, one’s time and talents and purposes. Where does that sort of commitment and fearless offering of oneself come from? It comes from a real appreciation of who God is, appreciation for what He has done for us, His love, His sacrifice, and all that He is. Once we at least get a glimpse of this, we can confidently lift our souls to Him in a honest living sacrifice — Romans 12:1,2.
One other thing that I found fascinating in this passage is v. 14 — “The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.” The side notes observe that it could be translated as possibly the counsel or intimacy. I kind of like the translation of “secret”, since it is not uncommon for the worldly and disobedient to look at the good fruit — a clear conscience, a good marriage, better results with children, a good reputation, peace in the face of death, etc. — of the righteous and wonder “How?” It’s one of the “secrets” hidden in plain sight that becomes obvious only after one comes to truly fear the LORD.
Moving on to Psalm 26 we see some real courage! “Examine me, LORD.” Would you have the courage to invite such an examination? Yet, we ought to know, when we’re living right; when our hearts are resisting temptation; when our words are being spoken boldly, truthfully, and kindly; when we’ve been truly trying to follow Jesus.
Finally, Psalm 27 expresses the confidence and courage that the child of God can feel and live. We are so often driven by fear of all the wrong things: the opinions of other, tomorrow’s job situation, the moves of those that we don’t trust (enemies), sickness, imperfections, and more. The one thing we ought to fear is the LORD and if we’ll do that all the other fears tend to fade and pass away into dim obscurity. Interesting isn’t it? If we fear the right Person, we have perfect security. Who do you fear? Who should you fear?
See you tomorrow, Lord willing.
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About parklinscomb
I'm a minister for the Rock Hill church of Christ in Frisco TX (rhcoc.org) where I've worked since 2020. I'm a big fan of my family, archaeology, the Bible, and the Lord's church.