Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash
By Mike Chaffin
Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.
5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Are you looking for the day your flesh can rest in hope? Some days I can confidently say I am resting in hope. Other days I am looking forward to that day. The worries of the day, and temptations cause us to stray from the faith that gives us rest. Jesus gives us the recipe for resting in hope and we will get to that soon.
David wrote this Psalm and gave it the designation of Michtam. Only six of the seventy plus psalms David wrote did he give this title. The term has fallen into obscurity, but the common interpretation is this is a Golden Psalm, one of extreme importance, one to be engraved.
This psalm isn’t about David. It is a prophetic psalm written as if Jesus is talking. Verses 8 -11 are quoted by Peter in Acts 2:25-28, and by Paul in Acts 13:35. Both point to Christ’s resurrection from the dead as proof Jesus is the Messiah, and through Him we can be saved.
Jesus spoke about resting in hope on several occasions. To one of His largest audiences He said,
All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:27-30
Jesus points out that He gives rest for our souls. When we lean into God’s yoke and learn from Jesus, we have a way to gain rest for our flesh. The flesh is at war with our spirit over who has control, sin, or Jesus. Paul said this war is so hard that we must put on the full armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18) This preparation leads to victory.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:26-27
