It is easy to see from this Psalm of David, why the Lord calls him a man after his own heart (Acts 13:11). It starts off, for example, by David declaring his determination to praise the Lord with his whole heart (verse 1). But David had reason to love and praise God. “In the day when I cried out, You answered me, You emboldened me and strengthened my soul” (verse 3). David drew close to the Lord in his troubles, and as troubles are intended to, they caused his strength and love to grow. And though David were King, he had lost neither his humility, nor his sense of place before God. “Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly” (verse 6). Furthermore, he wants to boast in the Lord, not in himself, and he wants the Nations to praise the Lord and sing of His wonderful ways (verses 4, 5). For David it's all about Him, not about self.
Leading up to the title verse, David declares “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me” (verse 7). I am reminded of a line from a song by Andraé Crouch “If I never had a problem, I'd never know that He could solve 'em.” David had had many troubles, and the Lord had deliverer them from them all. And what that did, was to strengthen his relationship with the Lord, build his wall of faith, and give him the confidence that what God had done in the past, He would do in the future. This is how the Lord works in you and me too, if we will let Him!
Coming to the title verse, other versions have the Lord will fulfill, and accomplish His purposes for me. I was immediately reminded of Philippians 1:6 “He who has begun a good work in you will keep right on working in you, until the day of Jesus Christ.” In and through the ups and downs of life, through the struggles and difficulties, the toil and the pain, the joys and the sorrows, God is accomplishing His perfect work in us, conforming us to the image of His Son, making us too men and women of God own heart, and in the process bringing us true fulfillment, while glorifying His name.
Father as I read verse 7 in the different versions that You will preserve, nourish, revive, refresh, cause to grow, I want to thank You that You are no respecter of persons, that this is exactly what You want to do with each one of us. Lord please bring us into the same confidence David had. Please use the issues of our lives to bring us deeper into relationship with You, that relationship which is the essence of fullness of life, and of life eternal (John 17:3). And we too will praise You with our whole heart, in Jesus Name Amen
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