Meditating On The Psalms

A (your town name) trolley driver and a preacher were standing in line to get into heaven. When the trolley driver approached the gate the angel said, “Welcome, I understand you were a (your town name) trolley driver. Since I’m in charge of housing I’m giving you that great big mansion over the hill-top.”

The preacher heard all this and began to stand a little taller. He thought to himself, “If a (your town name) trolley driver gets a house like that, man I must be in line for a castle!” He approached the gate and the angel said, “Welcome, I understand you were a preacher, that’s your cabin over there in the valley under the mansion.”

In protest the preacher said, “Hey, I worked for God, I was a preacher, I sacrificed, I toiled, I helped teach people about God. Why does the trolley driver get a mansion and I just get a shack?”

“Well, the angel said, it seems that when you preached people slept. When the trolley driver drove, people prayed!”

This week’s reading was Psalm 16.

1. Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.

2. I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you.”

3. The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!

4. Those who chase after other gods will be filled with sorrow. I will not take part in their sacrifices or even speak the names of their gods.

5. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine.

6. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!

7. I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.

8. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

9. No wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my mouth shouts his praises! My body rests in safety.

10. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your godly one to rot in the grave.

11. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

1. Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.

What does it mean to find refuge in God?

Deut 33:27 “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you,

saying, `Destroy him!”

2 Sam 22:1-32

22:1 David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior- from violent men you save me. 4 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

5 "The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.

8 "The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. 9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness his canopy around him- the dark rain clouds of the sky. 13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. 14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 15 He shot arrows and scattered [the enemies], bolts of lightning and routed them. 16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.

17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.