Page 55 - Living light - The Psalms

Fri August 2 - Danger of misinterpreting scripture ...you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:12
There is only place in the Bible where the devil is found to be quoting scripture and he gets it badly wrong. In the temptations of Jesus Christ in the desert, recorded in Matthew and Luke, the devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12 – but Jesus rounds on him with a decisive ‘put down’ and says, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:5-7). The devil is guilty of misapplying a scriptural text, an error that is all too easy for any of us to do. However, in the devil’s case, this was not an error but a wilful attempt to deflect the Son of God from his essential mission and purpose.
As we’ve already seen, we cannot take all these promises to imply that we’ll never encounter danger. Yes, our ultimate safety and security is to be found in God and he will undoubtedly save us from harm more often than we realise; but it is folly, and sometimes diabolical, to throw ourselves into harm’s way just to put God to the test. There’s nothing faithless about weighing up risk and acting with godly common sense; after all, it was God who gave us the capacity to reason and work out safe ways to conduct ourselves. That said, ‘stepping out in faith’ can often be a risky business but not a foolhardy one. Trust in God’s direction, not in the devil’s misdirection!
Heavenly Father, thank you for your unerring word; help me to discern it correctly and act accordingly. Amen.
Saturday August 3 - I will be with him in trouble
“He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.” Psalm 91:15
God is speaking to you and to me directly in the final three verses of this psalm. How many promises can you pack into so few words? God says of those who love him: “I will rescue; I will protect; I will answer; I will be with; I will deliver; I will honour; I will satisfy; I will show my salvation.” I make that eight promises in the closing section. That’s amazing generosity on God’s part!
I have nearly completed the draft of a book entitled ‘The Good Gifts of a Generous God’, inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:11, “How much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him!” It is the will and disposition of God to be enormously generous to those ‘who love him’ and ‘who call on him’. It is remarkable just how many times the Bible records Jesus or God the Father saying, “I give...”
Kindness and generosity flow from God. So many of this week’s themes from Psalm 91 are paralleled in Paul’s New Testament letter to the Romans, chapter 8. I would encourage you to turn afresh to that chapter and to verses 28-39 in particular. Psalm 91 and Romans 8 belong together: feast on their comforts, promises and God’s generosity!
Heavenly Father; thank you for your loving generosity. Please grant me a grateful heart and the confidence to lean upon your kindness. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY