Preserve me, O God...the Wayfarer 6/17/14

Preserve me, O God
 6/17/14

“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.”

(Psalm 16:1)

In this Psalm, David prays for preservation, praising God for His ability to give that preservation, acknowledging that his trust may only be given to God himself for that preservation requested.

Daily, I too pray for preservation, not my own, but that of the Church itself, as the required endurance of that Church is tested, tried, and continually beset by those who refuse to acknowledge the power, refuse to acknowledge the very existence of that same God to whom David spoke these words in this Psalm.

In my daily readings, I returned recently to the writings of another of the old preachers who gave us so much in the English language, one with whom I have much in common in belief, but one with whom I still find I must contend with on some points.

Those points are trivial and unworthy of discussion, but the points of agreement are contemporary now as they were when St. Augustine brought them out to people far from Israel, in a language unheard by those who walked the lands walked by Jesus, but a land still in need of what was given them by Him.

Augustine, and many others evangelized, were missionaries to lands that had never heard of Christ, never known God, lands that honored pagan gods, pagan teachings, pagan ways, with hope only in the here and now, without any true knowledge of my Savior, or the promise left us through Him of eternal life, peace and pleasure unobtainable on this ball of dirt in this suit of flesh comprised of that same dirt.

“O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.”

(Psalm 16:2 & 3)

David, humbly admits his own lack of goodness, that that goodness has no comparison whatsoever to that of God. He goes on to state that his delight is in what excellence is given by God to those saints who acknowledge and follow God.

“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea I have a goodly heritage.

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

(Psalm 16: 4-8)

David gives praise that those chasing the pagan gods, the pagan teachings the pagan rewards are to be continually defeated and overthrown by the ONE TRUE GOD.

 He goes on to state that the Lord is his inheritance, that inheritance having been given through the covenant between God and Abraham.

That inheritance now extends much farther than the bloodlines of Abraham alone, because of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus and the new covenant between God and man given us by that sacrifice.

We too need to bless and praise the Lord for the counsel that has been given us for our protection and preservation, we need to allow our reins to be guided and held by the same living God that David gave praise to.

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

(Psalm 16: 9-11)

David’s Psalms of thanks, those of lamentation, those of both joy and sorrow are guideposts that remain for us to follow, expressions of things already faced by others, as we also face the same things.

The expressions of joy are the same expressions of joy and praise that need to be given to god now as they were then.

That final verse in this short Psalm was and is a promise that there is a path to life, there is a fullness of joy available in the presence of God, and there are unimaginable pleasures that are ours, simply for the asking.

That path has been shown us! The WAY has been given us! The TRUTH of that WAY is undeniable! That LIFE is eternal once the simple path is taken.

Thanks to those old timers, like Augustine, who I have mentioned, that the WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE has been brought to a once pagan people, who, through having heard the gospel proclaimed by those old timers, have the choice of being adopted into that promised heritage spoken of by David, given that same promise given to David.

Those old timers gave their lives making that promise available to us in language that can be understood by us. Their efforts and teachings are indeed worthy of our attention and the time taken to hear their thoughts on the subject matter.

It is not only those old timers that need attention and time given, though.  It is the actual teacher of that subject matter left by them, the teachings themselves, the promise itself, the sacrifice of Christ Jesus that gave us that WAY to the TRUTH and the Life.

It was Jesus Himself that showed that path spoken of by David through the message preached by HIM and through the Commandment and Commission left by HIM.

“Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Redemption through repentance; a path to the love given by Him and demanded of us for each other; guidance in all facets of life, guidance in interrelationships with all peoples; not just family; the availability of that LIFE to all willing to accept it; none of which is available without first having met that requirement given in the simple message preached by Christ, It is for the preservation and adherence to these things I pray daily.

I remain, the same humble servant, the same simple sinner saved by grace through faith granted by God, having obtained that faith through the efforts of those old timers who cared enough to assure my heritage through comprehending and accepting that need for repentance to be given by me for the redemption given me in return by Him.

I remain also yet and still that same soldier, still sounding the gong, sounding the alarm, attempting to do my part to preserve what has been delivered us and pass that heritage to any willing to accept it, determined to see the efforts of all those “old timers” not to be wasted, but most importantly determined that at least some not waste the gift given us by God of His Son, my Savior, Jesus, Whose grace gives eternal life to those who believe.

Amen and Amen 
the Wayfarer