Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. – Psalm 62:1



Today’s Scripture Reading (April 27, 2016): Psalm 62

It is mentioned in almost every American Television Police show. The Miranda rights. The statement begins by making sure that you understand that you have the right to remain silent. The second part of the statement was mandated by the courts. It is not enough to just tell the person that is facing arrest that they have the right to remain silent, but you need to also remind them that anything that they do say can be used against them in a court of law. And if you follow the television shows or the movies in this regard, then you know that even if you are innocent, it is always good to remain silent.

The idea of staying silent is core to this Psalm. The idea of finding our rest in God includes the idea of remaining silent in front of him. And why not? After all, he already knows everything that we have done. There is nothing that we can tell him, no excuse that we can give him to help him understand our plight. He already knows our guilt. But it is not just that he is judging us, we also know that he is our salvation. We depend solely on him for whatever the future might hold.

So David’s soul is silent as he waits for the one who knows him the best to come and save him. It is one of the differences between the God of Israel and the gods of the Canaanites. The Canaanites seemed to have to do many things – dance, sing, produce sacrifices or cut themselves - in order to attract the attention of their gods. But David understands that with his God, that kind of activity is simply not necessary. His soul can remain silent, he can rest in his God, who is already coming to be his salvation. He will come and save you.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 64 

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