Wow, three “will worship” days in a row. That might be a first. Let’s see, I need things to turn around for us in almost every area of my life and ministry. I think I’ll use Psalm 18:1-3.

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Psalm 37. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind at verse 33:

Psalms 37:33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

The Spirit warns: “The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him” (Psalm 37:32). Watch is not a passive observance. It means the wicked “set a watch” upon the righteous, taking note of their every move, looking for a weakness to exploit. Their motive: “to slay them” (Psalm 37:32b).

When David testifies that the LORD will not “leave him in his hand” (Psalm 37:33), he implies that the wicked might succeed, find a weakness to exploit, and take the righteous into their power—the meaning of being in his hand.

But GOD promised that He will not abandon His own; He will not leave the righteous in “the hand” of the wicked.

When David testifies that our Father will not condemn us when judged by the wicked, He implies that sometimes the wicked succeed at getting us into their power and passing sentence on us. Passing sentence is the meaning of the word that is translated “judged” in Psalm 37:33.

Our Father promised that when the wicked pass their judgments upon us, He will not condemn us. Condemn translates a word that includes the idea of declaring wrong, to condemn. Webster’s tells us the word condemn means to pronounce guilty, worthless, forfeited—to lose the right to the Father’s love, protection, guidance, and forgiveness by some error, fault, or offense.

Along the still waters, I pondered the mercy and grace of our GOD. Suppose we get snared in the “world’s” judgment, either socially, as when we take a position the world finds objectionable, or legally, as when we offend one or another of their laws. In that case, it is comforting to know that GOD ultimately is our Judge (Isaiah 33:22), and that this world system, which lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19), has no power over us that our Father does not allow (John 19:11).

God does allow, or grant, power to the hand of the wicked to trouble us. He allowed the hand of the wicked to crucify His Son. He warned us that in this world we will suffer tribulation and persecution (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12). He comforted us, saying all who leave home or family for the Gospel’s sake will receive “now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands” (Mark 10:30).* But He added that these will come to us “with persecutions” (Mark 10:30).

I don’t like that. I don’t want persecution, troubles, trials, tribulations—I like peace. By the way, Jesus understands that. In Gethsamene, He began His prayer with, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me” (Mark 14:36). Here He strove against sin, resisting unto blood (Hebrews 12:3-4).** This occurred when He was crowned with thorns, and subsequently, nailed to the Cross, and finally, when He was speared in His side.

Although Jesus revulsed at the cup, and desired it be removed, He concluded: “Nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

Sometimes God allows us to come into the “hand” of our enemies because, in some way—perhaps in ways we cannot now understand—it advances the Kingdom of Christ. Other times, He uses it as His chastening. Immediately after the Spirit mentioned striving against sin unto blood (Hebrews 12:4), He applied it to the chastening we experience in this life (Hebrews 12:5-9).

In any case, it is limited by our Father, and we do well to submit to Him, knowing that He will not leave us in their hand.

What do we do? He tells us in the very next verse: “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land” (Psalm 37:34a). In the context of David’s prayer, “inherit the land” to us means to receive what God promised. And when He does this, He will exalt us in the eyes of the wicked oppressors. Then our Father adds a bonus: “When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it” (Psalm 37:34b). He keeps vengeance to Himself, but He will allow us to watch! (Romans 12:19). It is always in His heart (Isaiah 63:4). Wait for it!

In the valley, I knelt in the shadow of the Cross on which Jesus conquered sin, striving against it unto blood. The blood of the Lamb takes away our sin. And what if we are offered (poured out upon, or on) the sacrifice and service of the faith of those we serve, (Philippians 2:17) so be it to the glory of our Saviour, Who poured out His life a sacrifice for us all. I think I noted some pleasure in His voice when He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, we discussed some matters of personal concern, and then my Shepherd anointed my head with His oil, filled my cup with His grace, and led me into the harvest, goodness, and mercy following closely.

Praying for revival1 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v70cnfs-shepherds-pasture.html

[*Did you notice that we do not receive “many fathers”? Jesus said, “Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). However, Paul asserted a “father” like relationship to those He delivered to Christ: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). Paul never required anyone to call him “father.” We have no record that anyone ever did. So the observation stands: interesting that Jesus did not include “fathers” in His statement regarding what we can expect in this life when we sacrifice for His kingdom (Matthew 6:33). There is a peculiar jealousy on the part of our Heavenly Father regarding this title. That does not mean we may not use the title for our fathers in this world (It is used in this way 62 times and for our Heavenly Father only 13 times. All of these are found in the Gospels, except for one in Revelation 14:1. By the way, Jesus used “Father” 12 times, and “father” 16 times.]

[**A tradition has developed from Luke 22:44 that, in Gethsamene, Jesus sweated drops of blood from His forehead. However, the Greek word  ὡσεὶ (ho-si’) means like, about, or as it were. Thank GOD for our KJV translation. The point is, the language here indicates that Jesus’ sweat was so profuse it was like “great drops of blood” falling to the ground.]