Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Oh my Friends, it’s been a cool, sunny, beautiful day in my area. The Caribana festivities are over for another year. They seemed to have gone off without any serious violence and the people are going back to work now to rest. Hn! What a preposterous but true statement! I didn’t do much ‘festivalizing’ myself, merely hung around home and caught up on some long overdue work. And I was feeling fine until shortly before I came to write the Bit. Then that spoilsport, Lucifer, injected certain thoughts in my brain that caused a draining of my joy. But Friends, you’d be proud of the ole fella! I didn’t let those negative thoughts take root; I immediately commanded the devil to get away from me, that I wouldn’t let him steal the source of my strength, and to further ‘diss’ him, I decided to write on joy again tonight. Thank you Lord! The ole fella praises your Holy Name! Selah! And Friends, when in doubt or sorrow, there’s nobody better to turn to than Bruh David for comfort and encouragement. Psalm 16 is one of his many contemplative writings, where he’s seeking preservation and blessing; searching for the right path of life, because he knows that once he attains that path, his life will be filled with joy. But Friends, that path of righteousness is a difficult one to find and then manoeuvre along. Jesus said it best: ‘Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Mat.7: 14) But if we want to be full of the joy that comes from following Jesus, then we need to diligently search for the right way then rigorously adhere to its directions and instructions. In this Psalm, Bruh David offers us a few tips on how to do it. He opens with a simple but strong passage of faith: ‘Preserve me O God: for in thee do I put my trust.’ (vs.1) He’s asking for God’s constant surveillance over his life, cause he’s surrendered his all to him. Then he continues; ‘O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not unto thee.’ (vs.2) Here he’s solemnly admitting that he’s nothing without the Lord’s help; he cannot be righteous without assistance from the Most High. ‘But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.’ (vs.3) This applies to other seekers of righteousness, others with whom he can worship and fellowship, who can encourage and lift him up. He confirms this later by saying: ‘I am a companion of all them that fear thee; and of them that keep thy precepts.’ (Ps.119:63) Along the rough and rugged road of life, fellowship is extremely important my people, cause we need others to help and guide us, while we do the same for them. Bruh David then addresses our idol worship. ‘Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, not take up their names unto my lips.’ (vs.4) That verse is key my people! It’s a true and rightful declaration that those who follow other gods will suffer severely, but Bruh David insists, is adamant that he will have no part of it, neither the worshipping or sacrificing to other gods. And he specifies it in Psalm 106. ‘And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.’ (Ps. 106:36-38) It’s hard my Friends to live in an ungodly world and not be a part of it, but we have to seriously set ourselves to that task, since it’s in the ungodly world where we’ll find the lost souls that need bringing to Christ. Remember too, that our God is a very jealous God, and from day one, He warned His people. ‘And in all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods; neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.’ (Ex.23:13) He couldn’t be any clearer than that mih people! And before Joshua died, he too warned Israel: ‘That ye come not among these nations, those that remain among you; neither make mention of the names of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them. But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.’ (Josh.23:7-8) That’s how important it is my brethren not to get caught up in other cultures with different beliefs, because those beliefs tend to seep unconsciously into our souls and distract our focus and attention away from Almighty God. Bruh David then goes on to sing the Lord’s praises. ‘The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.’ (vs.5-6) The Lord’s upholding him, providing him with a goodly inheritance, a good life. ‘I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.’ (vs.7) God’s advice is very helpful to him, even in sleep, his heart is filled with guidance and advice. ‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.’ (vs.8) He’s declaring his everlasting worship and admiration, for with the Lord beside him, he’s strong and unmovable. ‘Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.’ (vs. 9-10) Ah my people, there’s the magic of believing in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the gladness of heart, glorious rejoicing, and the hope of peace and rest in this world and the life hereafter. The Lord won’t allow the righteous, certainly not His Son, to suffer eternal death. ‘But thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ Yes my people, that’s the God awesome truth, as Bruh Paul confirms in Acts 2:25-35, where he uses Ps.16:8-11, to authenticate the fact that Jesus went down that path of life, and therefore blazed the trail for all who come after Him. To close, let’s quickly paraphrase what the true path of life consists of: It first takes a righteous man to seek and follow it; one having an attitude of complete trust and surrender, of great gratitude, of much pleasure in other believers and fellowshipping with them, of not worshipping other gods, of being satisfied with what the Lord provides, of praise and thanks for His unceasing and unerring advice, of being steadfast and strong in spiritual devotion, of being hopeful and joyful in this earthly life, with a certainty that in bodily death, the spirit will be set free from all its manacles to be with Jesus for all eternity. Oh Friends, if we follow that prescription then our woes will be few and our joy plentiful. That’s Jesus’ promise. Let’s take Him up on it nuh. We have nothing to lose and so much to gain. Till next time, God willing, Much LOVE!…losers zig zag on Satan’s wide road…but winners stay straight on Jesus’ narrow path…
Oh my Friends, it’s been a cool, sunny, beautiful day in my area. The Caribana festivities are over for another year. They seemed to have gone off without any serious violence and the people are going back to work now to rest. Hn! What a preposterous but true statement! I didn’t do much ‘festivalizing’ myself, merely hung around home and caught up on some long overdue work. And I was feeling fine until shortly before I came to write the Bit. Then that spoilsport, Lucifer, injected certain thoughts in my brain that caused a draining of my joy. But Friends, you’d be proud of the ole fella! I didn’t let those negative thoughts take root; I immediately commanded the devil to get away from me, that I wouldn’t let him steal the source of my strength, and to further ‘diss’ him, I decided to write on joy again tonight. Thank you Lord! The ole fella praises your Holy Name! Selah! And Friends, when in doubt or sorrow, there’s nobody better to turn to than Bruh David for comfort and encouragement. Psalm 16 is one of his many contemplative writings, where he’s seeking preservation and blessing; searching for the right path of life, because he knows that once he attains that path, his life will be filled with joy. But Friends, that path of righteousness is a difficult one to find and then manoeuvre along. Jesus said it best: ‘Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Mat.7: 14) But if we want to be full of the joy that comes from following Jesus, then we need to diligently search for the right way then rigorously adhere to its directions and instructions. In this Psalm, Bruh David offers us a few tips on how to do it. He opens with a simple but strong passage of faith: ‘Preserve me O God: for in thee do I put my trust.’ (vs.1) He’s asking for God’s constant surveillance over his life, cause he’s surrendered his all to him. Then he continues; ‘O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not unto thee.’ (vs.2) Here he’s solemnly admitting that he’s nothing without the Lord’s help; he cannot be righteous without assistance from the Most High. ‘But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.’ (vs.3) This applies to other seekers of righteousness, others with whom he can worship and fellowship, who can encourage and lift him up. He confirms this later by saying: ‘I am a companion of all them that fear thee; and of them that keep thy precepts.’ (Ps.119:63) Along the rough and rugged road of life, fellowship is extremely important my people, cause we need others to help and guide us, while we do the same for them. Bruh David then addresses our idol worship. ‘Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, not take up their names unto my lips.’ (vs.4) That verse is key my people! It’s a true and rightful declaration that those who follow other gods will suffer severely, but Bruh David insists, is adamant that he will have no part of it, neither the worshipping or sacrificing to other gods. And he specifies it in Psalm 106. ‘And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.’ (Ps. 106:36-38) It’s hard my Friends to live in an ungodly world and not be a part of it, but we have to seriously set ourselves to that task, since it’s in the ungodly world where we’ll find the lost souls that need bringing to Christ. Remember too, that our God is a very jealous God, and from day one, He warned His people. ‘And in all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods; neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.’ (Ex.23:13) He couldn’t be any clearer than that mih people! And before Joshua died, he too warned Israel: ‘That ye come not among these nations, those that remain among you; neither make mention of the names of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them. But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.’ (Josh.23:7-8) That’s how important it is my brethren not to get caught up in other cultures with different beliefs, because those beliefs tend to seep unconsciously into our souls and distract our focus and attention away from Almighty God. Bruh David then goes on to sing the Lord’s praises. ‘The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.’ (vs.5-6) The Lord’s upholding him, providing him with a goodly inheritance, a good life. ‘I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.’ (vs.7) God’s advice is very helpful to him, even in sleep, his heart is filled with guidance and advice. ‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.’ (vs.8) He’s declaring his everlasting worship and admiration, for with the Lord beside him, he’s strong and unmovable. ‘Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.’ (vs. 9-10) Ah my people, there’s the magic of believing in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the gladness of heart, glorious rejoicing, and the hope of peace and rest in this world and the life hereafter. The Lord won’t allow the righteous, certainly not His Son, to suffer eternal death. ‘But thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ Yes my people, that’s the God awesome truth, as Bruh Paul confirms in Acts 2:25-35, where he uses Ps.16:8-11, to authenticate the fact that Jesus went down that path of life, and therefore blazed the trail for all who come after Him. To close, let’s quickly paraphrase what the true path of life consists of: It first takes a righteous man to seek and follow it; one having an attitude of complete trust and surrender, of great gratitude, of much pleasure in other believers and fellowshipping with them, of not worshipping other gods, of being satisfied with what the Lord provides, of praise and thanks for His unceasing and unerring advice, of being steadfast and strong in spiritual devotion, of being hopeful and joyful in this earthly life, with a certainty that in bodily death, the spirit will be set free from all its manacles to be with Jesus for all eternity. Oh Friends, if we follow that prescription then our woes will be few and our joy plentiful. That’s Jesus’ promise. Let’s take Him up on it nuh. We have nothing to lose and so much to gain. Till next time, God willing, Much LOVE!…losers zig zag on Satan’s wide road…but winners stay straight on Jesus’ narrow path…
SCRIP-BITS 