Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation–Psalm 86:4-5

Posted by Seth on Aug 19, 2009 in Daily Devotions |

Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation–Psalm 86:4-5

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Psalm 86:4-5 where we learn from David what it looks like to come to the Lord in complete self abandon.

Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Where our happiness comes from matters a great deal. It is sometimes said that people who do not have Jesus as their Savior have little happiness in life, but this is not completely true. This world affords us many pleasures, especially in the West. Now it might be more true that those without Christ have little lasting happiness, but this really might not matter much to the unbeliever as there are enough momentary pleasures in the line-up to keep them busy for ten lifetimes. David, who penned this Psalm, certainly had much opportunity to engage in such pleasures and at times got caught up in them, but he knew where eternal, steadfast, soul-gladdening satisfaction came from. And to that Supplier we see him here running.

Note here the nature of David’s worship. In his asking for a glad soul, he holds none of himself back. In fact, he raises his very soul up to God, away from everything that might steal his affections. There is no disunity between what he wants and what he offers which is often a great problem for us when we come to God. We want a bit of Him to make all our hurts better and quiet our hearts instead of desiring that He fill us and flush out all that is making us sick. And if He doesn’t fix us when we give Him a glance, we are altogether disappointed in Him. Imagine that one day you fill your car’s gas tank up with diesel fuel, and then, realizing that your vehicle is running far less than what is considered satisfactory, you top it off with a bit of gasoline to fix the problem. Much to your dismay, there is little to no improvement in the drivability of your car and you end up even more frustrated than before. So then, instead of saying, “Ah, it must be that I need a tank of pure gas and that a mixture will not suffice,” you blame the bit of gasoline for not doing its job. There is little sense in such a conclusion, but we find ourselves doing the same thing with the Lord.

David wanted all of his Savior that he could possibly have knowing that God was good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call[ed] upon [Him]. Those other pleasures he could have had were neither worthy of his praise nor suppliers of such kindness and love. Are we calling upon the Lord with this form of abandonment that David here models for us, or are we trying to “top off our tanks” with a little test fuel, as if God does not require faith in Him alone in our coming to Him? Let us empty ourselves today that we might know Him in soul-satisfying fullness.

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