Psalm 119:49,50
One of the comforting elements in the book of Psalms is that the Psalms were written by fellow citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Our experiences were theirs, even though theirs occurred in a different nation and period of time. Somewhere in the Psalms we find a situation similar to the one we are in. They had enemies, and so do we. They had weaknesses, and we have plenty of them. They had moments of grief and disappointment, and this is never far from us.
One thing we do have in common, however, is that God has spoken to all of us and given us rich promises, through which He gives us hope of a day when all fear, problems, and miseries are over and our enemies are gone forever. Instead, we look forward to a life of spiritual perfection and heavenly blessedness.
There are times though when it seems as if God has forgotten His promises, and our spiritual life of hope and faith becomes weak. There are times when we forget that we are God's servants, and think that He ought to be our servant and do things our way. Then we need to run to Him and with the psalmist pray, as we find it in Psalm 119:49,50: "Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in affliction: for Thy word quickened me." Our versification has it this way (PRC Psalter):
Lord, Thy word to me remember.
Thou hast made me hope in Thee;
This my comfort in affliction
That Thy word has quickened me.
Now surely God never forgets for a split-second, and the psalmist is not accusing Him of doing so. The idea is that he asks God to do as He promised, even though it looks as though He had forgotten. And his reason for his request is that God's word quickens him, that is, revives his spiritual life, so that he takes a firmer grip upon that word.
The significance for us plainly is that no matter what our problem is, we must go to God's Word become flesh. Look at Christ and what He did for us. God will through this quicken us to stronger hope.
Read: Psalm 119:49-64
Psalter versification: #327:1
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #179
Why not sing along??
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Kings 18:13-37
II Kings 19:1-37
Acts 21:1-17
Psalm 149:1-9
Proverbs 18:8
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Quote for Reflection:
John Gill on Psalm 87:4-6: "... many persons in those several countries, [will] be born again of water and of the Spirit, of the incorruptible seed of grace, by the ministry of the word; who because they should be regenerated ... in Zion, therefore are said to be born there; and besides, being born again, they are admitted members of Zion, and to all the privileges of Zion, as true-born Israelites; and are brought up there, are nourished with the sincere milk of the word, and nursed with the breasts of Gospel ordinances there administered; and so Zion, or Jerusalem the Gospel church, is truly the mother of them all, Gal. 4:26. "
Additional Info
- Date: 1-July
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.