“He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever. He has shown His people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.” Psalm 111:4-8
Devotional Thought For The Day
Being gracious and merciful is important when it comes to relationships with people who have moral failures and lapses into sin. Since “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” [Rom. 3:23], and “there is not a just man upon the earth that does good and sins not” [Eccl. 7:20], it is a good thing for every single one of us that “the LORD is gracious and merciful.” We have no hope, no ground for optimism or joy, apart from the assurance of God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness – provided for us in Jesus, the Savior of the world [1 Jn. 4:14]. Also good for us is the fact that “He remembers His covenant forever,” especially the “New Covenant” in which He promises to forgive our sins and to not even remember our iniquities [Jer. 31:34]. Always, these realities are the basis of our proper relationship with God.
But there is also much more to the blessings God bestows on those who “fear” Him, those whom He has chosen, redeemed, and called to be His dear people of faith. We have frequently recalled what it is to “fear” God – “but with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.” [Ps. 130:4] The “fear of the LORD” that makes us His people is knowledge of, faith and trust in His gracious mercy and forgiveness. He provides “food” for His people – all that we need for the support and survival of physical life in this world. We think of food as coming from “the sweat of our brow,” but without the blessing, providence, and goodwill of God our labor would be futile. This reality is also basic to our proper relationship with God – knowing that “every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights” [James 1:17]. This keeps us humbly dependent upon God, filled with thanksgiving to Him, and eager to perform our tasks in accord with His precepts, “with faithfulness and uprightness.”
There is even more: “He has shown His people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.” This is a way of saying that God works all things for the good of His people, that ultimately they shall inherit the earth [Matt. 5:5]. In the past America has experienced these blessings – where the inheritance of the nations flowed to us. Alas, our humility, repentance, faith, and devotion to His precepts quickly evaporated with the acquisition and accumulation of wealth and prerogative. In consequence, a good number plunged themselves into all manner of greed, selfishness, pride, arrogance, and sexual immorality – including the great cloak of our shame, the dark closets of abortion. This was not enough; God’s gift of marriage was further eroded by divorce, and then homosexuality reared its ugly head, and now unthinkably, many consider it both reasonable and wise to simply redefine this blessed institution of God’s creation. Consider well that God has threatened and carried out His judgment upon all such dark perversion; but He continues to keep His promise of blessing His people, those who fear Him.
Those who continue in repentance and faith also acknowledge that “the works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever” – and we give thanks and praise to God that it is so! We can count on Him to continue doing His works, and that they are “faithful and just.” This is certainty of our continued and eternal blessedness! And we rejoice that He has given us His precepts – all of which are trustworthy, in His written Word of Holy Scripture. These are “established forever and ever” – never to be changed, overturned, perverted, subtracted from, or added to. [Rev. 22:18,19] How sad that so many, even among the visible gatherings of God’s people, fail to grasp, receive, submit to, and rejoice in His precepts. But those who receive with joy the Word of God, and abide in His love, know that His precept are “to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.” Not only because God has given them, not only because of Who God is, but because He does what He instructs us to do, and we are greatly blessed by His works.
It should be no surprise then that God’s people are eager to “praise the LORD!” and to “give thanks to the LORD” with our whole heart, “in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” And the blessings bestowed upon us through God’s Word in worship extend to all of life – in this world and the next. Praise be to God!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, keep us mindful of the multitude of blessings that You bestow upon Your dear people of faith! Keep us humble, repentant, and joyful in Your gracious mercy and forgiveness. Keep us mindful also that all good things come to us from Your hand. Enable us to find great confidence and courage in Your works, Your promises and Your faithfulness. So direct our hearts and minds into commitment to faithfully and uprightly living in accord with Your blessed precepts. And may we always give proper thanks and praise to You! Amen.