Bible League: Living His Word He gives us plenty of good things. He makes us young again, like an eagle that grows new feathers.— Psalm 103:5 ERV Psalm 103 is a song of praise to the Lord. It begins with, "My soul, praise the LORD! Every part of me, praise his holy name! My soul, praise the LORD and never forget how kind he is!" (Psalm 103:1-2). It then goes on to list a number of the kindnesses that the Lord bestows upon His people. Our verse for today has one of them. The Lord gives us plenty of good things. Indeed, He gives us so many good things that we're made young again, like an eagle that grows new feathers after the molting of its old feathers. What are the "good things" mentioned in the Psalm? It could be anything. We have need of many different things in life. Each of them could be described as a good thing. We need food, clothing, shelter, and a host of other things. The Lord God provides them all. The Apostle Paul said, "God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17). And David said, "You open your hands and give every living thing all that it needs" (Psalm 145:16). God did not create us only to deny us the good things we need. The good things the Lord provides do good things for us. David says they make us young again. Life can be hard. Work and toil take their toll, making us old, even old before our time. The good things can renew us, making us feel young again in body and spirit. Isaiah also uses the eagle analogy to describe this: "They will be like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired" (Isaiah 40:31). Maybe you're feeling a little tired today. Maybe your wings are due for replacement. The Lord knows what you need. He has the good things that will perk you right up and restore your youthful vigor. He's more than willing to provide them for you. Indeed, He's willing to provide them for you richly. Get ready, then, to sing His praises. Get ready to thank Him for making you young again. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingExodus 4, 5, 6 Exodus 4 -- Miraculous Signs through Moses; Aaron as Mouthpiece; Moses Returns NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Exodus 5 -- Pharaoh Rejects Moses' Plea and Increases the Israelites' Labor NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Exodus 6 -- God Promises to Deliver the Families of Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 16 Matthew 16 -- Pharisees Demand a Sign; Peter's Confession of Christ; Jesus Foretells His Death and Rebukes Peter NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock!May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted! Insight David praises God wholeheartedly. Praise is not just a song about God; it is a song to God. Challenge Praising God has several aspects to it: (1) Say thank you to him for each attribute of his divine nature; (2) focus our hearts on him; (3) thank him for his many gracious gifts to us; and (4) thank him for our relationship with him. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Songs 1:4 We will remember thy love more than wine.Jesus will not let his people forget his love. If all the love they have enjoyed should be forgotten, he will visit them with fresh love. "Do you forget my cross?" says he, "I will cause you to remember it; for at my table I will manifest myself anew to you. Do you forget what I did for you in the council-chamber of eternity? I will remind you of it, for you shall need a counsellor, and shall find me ready at your call." Mothers do not let their children forget them. If the boy has gone to Australia, and does not write home, his mother writes--"Has John forgotten his mother?" Then there comes back a sweet epistle, which proves that the gentle reminder was not in vain. So is it with Jesus, he says to us, "Remember me," and our response is, "We will remember thy love." We will remember thy love and its matchless history. It is ancient as the glory which thou hadst with the Father before the world was. We remember, O Jesus, thine eternal love when thou didst become our Surety, and espouse us as thy betrothed. We remember the love which suggested the sacrifice of thyself, the love which, until the fulness of time, mused over that sacrifice, and long for the hour whereof in the volume of the book it was written of thee, "Lo, I come." We remember thy love, O Jesus as it was manifest to us in thy holy life, from the manger of Bethlehem to the garden of Gethsemane. We track thee from the cradle to the grave--for every word and deed of thine was love--and we rejoice in thy love, which death did not exhaust; thy love which shone resplendent in thy resurrection. We remember that burning fire of love which will never let thee hold thy peace until thy chosen ones be all safely housed, until Zion be glorified, and Jerusalem settled on her everlasting foundations of light and love in heaven. Daily Light on the Daily Path Galatians 5:11 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. Isaiah 4:4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Romans 9:33 just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 1 Peter 2:7,8 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," • and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. Galatians 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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