Be The Psalmist Of Today

May 1, 2021Written Devotionals

“The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.  Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”  Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.”   Psalm 16:3-5   NKJV

In verse 3 the Psalmist puts into words what we have all felt.  He poetically expresses the effects of the fallen world in our lives.  Life will often bring us grief and sorrow.  But then in verse 4, he calls upon the name of the Lord in his time of suffering and struggle that seemed overwhelming to the point of death.  He calls upon the name of the Lord with an expectation of deliverance from the agonies of this life.

We feel the same effects of living in this fallen world that the Psalmist experienced.  The difference is that we have the name of Jesus to call upon, the name that is above all names!  Think of it, the Psalmist wrote of the desperation of the moment and when he called upon the name of the Lord, he was expecting deliverance because this is what his past experiences had taught him would happen when he put his trust and reliance in the name of the Lord. We have an even greater hope than he did because of our relationship with Jesus.

If we were a modern Psalm writer, we could write a Psalm with even greater truth, power and victory than anything the Psalm writers of old could have.

In verse 5 the Psalm writer identifies God as a God of grace and mercy, which He is!  But the writer of this Psalm was still under the law. We live under the new covenant of grace.  We have grace and peace in Jesus Christ beyond anything he could have experienced.  Listen to the words of this Psalm as the writer revels in the grace and mercy he knew through experience with God.  You and I have grace and mercy beyond anything he could have ever experienced, and yet hear in his words the treasure he valued in the grace and mercy he found in the Lord, even under the old covenant.

We could write a superior Psalm, perhaps not in the poetic offerings but certainly concerning the superiority of our covenant and relationship in Him.  In the superiority of what we have in Jesus!

Operate in all that you have in Jesus Christ today as a new covenant believer.  Speak words of faith and glory as one who is a Psalmist of today.  As today’s Psalmist you are living out a life acknowledging and living in all that is yours through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Proclaim to others what you have in Jesus and what they can also enjoy.  Be a modern day Psalmist in this life, in the things you write and in the words of praise that you speak.

J Todd Hostetler

www.cityonahillTC.org

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