Daily Devotional (July-17-2022) ENTER INTO HIS REST

Daily Devotional (July-17-2022) ENTER INTO HIS 

Psalm 86:1-10

A prayer of David.

¹ Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
  for I am poor and needy.
² Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
  save your servant who trusts in you.
 You are my God; ³ have mercy on me, Lord,
  for I call to you all day long.
⁴ Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
  for I put my trust in you.

⁵ You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
  abounding in love to all who call to you.
⁶ Hear my prayer, Lord;
  listen to my cry for mercy.
⁷ When I am in distress, I call to you,
  because you answer me.

⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
  no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made
  will come and worship before you, Lord;
  they will bring glory to your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
  you alone are God.

Commentary

Rumours of justification

David experienced the blessing of being justified by faith and being a child of God. He says, ‘Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help’ (v.6, MSG). Like a parent lovingly bending down so that a child can whisper in their ear, God listens to the prayers of his children: ‘In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me’ (v.7).

David did not have the benefit of living under the new covenant. He lived before the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. However, in one sense, the cross is not limited by time. It was effective for those who lived before Jesus, for example for Abraham and David. Indeed, Paul highlights how David had known the wonderful blessings of God’s forgiveness and restoration (Romans 4:6–8; Psalm 32:1–2a).

In some way, Paul is saying David experienced ‘justification by faith’ even though the means by which it was accomplished had not yet occurred.

First, he understood God’s love. He knew that the Lord is ‘abounding in love to all who call to [him]’ (Psalm 86:5b).

Second, he knew that God was merciful and forgiving. ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord… You are forgiving and good… listen to my cry for mercy’ (vv.3a,5a,6b).

Third, although he knew that he did not deserve forgiveness and mercy – he had not earned it – he had the faith to believe that God would save him through his faith in him: ‘You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you’ (v.2b).

In other words, David understood all the elements that make up justification by faith, except for one. The one missing piece was the death of Jesus for our sins.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your amazing love for me. Thank you that you save those who put their trust in you.