Self-Awareness Pleases God; Psalm 69, Proverbs 25

May the mumbling commence!

How do we please our Lord?  We find part of the answer in Psalm sixty-nine:

But I am poor and sorrowful;

Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. 

I will praise the name of God with a song,

And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 

This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull,

Which has horns and hooves. 

The humble shall see this and be glad;

And you who seek God, your hearts shall live. 

For the Lord hears the poor,

And does not despise His prisoners. (Verses 29-33)

To please God, we must be aware of our true condition before the Lord – poor, sorrowful and pitiful.  We need to be aware of our need for salvation.  And we need to look for that salvation only from God.

To please God, we should bring praises to His Name with songs that magnify His holy Name.  We need to show our thankfulness.  We need to know that God alone is worthy of worship.

These things will please the Lord much better than sacrifice for our slip ups and omissions.

These are humbling thoughts – thoughts that lead us to seek God.  Be glad when you find yourselves in this state of mind and heart.  It will mean life.

The Lord listens to the poor and releases the prisoner.  May we know our true condition before our Lord – that we are poor and need of rescue from the prison of our own base desires and habits.

To seek God means to act in ways diametrically opposed to worldly wisdoms.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-five:

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;

And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 

For so you will heap coals of fire on his head,

And the Lord will reward you. (Verses 21-22)

Service and care of the enemy – that sounds like folly!  But it will make our enemies unsure of how to respond.  It will open the door to transforming enemies into friends.  That is one of the rewards that the Teacher speaks about.

Let us walk with the Holy Spirit of God and attempt to do these godly things, knowing that we have the safety net of Christ our Savior and Lord.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out