“Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity…
O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy…
The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them…
You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death…
O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord,
to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!” Psalm 68:4-10,17-20,32-35
Composed with the long view in mind, David’s psalm traces God’s hand through Israel’s history and trials and triumphs he’s experienced. What he knows and proclaims is that his Lord has been constant through time, steadily at work on His vast purposes through daily sustaining of His people. His unchanging character and motivations influence His every deed, and He has borne His children.
What to God is eternal and whole is often to man temporal and part. Frustrated by hours and pulled by demands, we are unable to see completely or manage with an eternal perspective, and are called to trust the One who can. The God of history has always carried and cared for His people, and will forevermore. Taking account of His steady and purposeful hand reminds us of our secure salvation and elicits praise. (Malachi 3:6; 1 Corinthians 13:8-12)
Do we find ourselves unsettled by present urgencies and whiplash news? What present pressures have knocked us off kilter, without anchor or plumb? How do we respond to troubling times and wildernesses, work challenges and strained relationships? Do we fret, or pray for the Lord to show Himself strong and sustain us? Do we doubt God’s goodness and sufficiency, or trust Him to fulfill His promises? As He has always been and done, He will daily be and do. (Psalm 68:28; Matthew 6:34)
“Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness,
Great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hast provided;
Great is thy faithfulness,
Lord unto me.” ~Thomas O. Chisholm (1923)
Father, with grateful, trusting heart, may I daily bless You for Your daily bearing.
