you shall find rest unto your souls

Psalm 63:1. O God thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

And so, Wednesday opens somewhat cloudy, but no real signs of rain that the earth and the plants are now dying to receive. Yes friends, the absence of heavenly blessing is becoming crucial for Mother Nature to continue exhibiting her marvellous colours and eye-catching beauty. So, let’s hope and pray that some heavenly water will soon rain down on us and the parched land that is unfortunately afflicted with thirst.

That brings to mind, Bruh David’s words in Psalm 63, subtitled – God satisfies the thirsting soul. And sadly, ever so many of our souls are thirsty for God! Some of us know that we thirst for God, but others don’t know it. They just know that’s something’s wrong, that something essential is missing from their lives, and they can’t be satisfied with life as they keep searching for that essential missing link.

Here’s how Bruh David puts it in the psalm with eloquence and heart-felt emotion. ‘O God thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen (looked for) thee in the sanctuary. Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hand in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.’ (Ps. 63:1-6)

Oh my people, how many of us actually taking refuge in a wilderness – a dry and thirsty land – would write such a glowing testimony to the Lord eh, especially after he had anointed you to be king, but had you running and hiding from the current king like a common criminal? Not many, I can assure you. But Bruh David did, because he felt the awesome power and call of God in his life and from his personal experience with God knew that as Bruh Paul said many eons later: ‘…all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28)

Yes friends, life is not a bed of roses, has never been since our forefathers Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden of Eden and sin became an inherent part of our nature, and will only become that way when Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom. But until then, we need to truly believe in Jesus and stand strong and steadfast for Him in this evil and terribly ungodly world. That is our bounden duty as believers and ambassadors, and we must learn to take the good with the bad. As the Father of patience, Job, said so dramatically to his wife: ‘…What? Shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive (accept) evil (calamity)?’ (Job 2:10)

Ah mih bredrin, at times life can surely be a rough and rocky road to tread, but with the amazing LOVE and sacrifices of Jesus working to our benefit, and His Holy Spirit dwelling within us and guiding us over the rough patches, we need not be afraid or worried. Yes, we must be concerned and responsible, but never worried or afraid, because our Lord and Saviour has faithfully promised to take care of us.

And if you don’t believe me, just listen to these awesome promises of His Great Invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)

Now who else but our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has both the boldness and the power to make such an amazing offer eh? Nobody else! And that’s the underlying principle that Bruh David must have known and felt when he wrote Psalm 63. And I do like how the scholars explain the Psalm.

They say: ‘The location of the writing of the psalm is described generally as in the wilderness of Judah. Unlike many of the psalms written in these dire situations, however, this psalm is overflowing with thanksgiving rather than lament and petition. David declares his longing for spiritual renewal (vs. 1-2), he expresses his thankful mood (vs. 3-6), he gives voice to his trust in God (vs. 7-8), and he announces his hope for the future (vs. 9-11). Enemies are mentioned only in passing (vs. 9-10)

Mama Mia! What a strong and enduring faith and trust Bruh David had in the God of his forefathers. And what I believe the Lord LOVED so much about Bruh David is that despite his frail and fatal flaws as a man, and all the hardship he was forced to endure, much of it innocently, he never turned away from worshipping and seeking Him, that’s why He could call him His friend and a man after His own heart. (1 Sam. 13:14, Acts 13:22)

Oh my fellow saints, these are times like Bruh David faced in the wilderness, the enemy is making desperate attempts to steal our joy and peace in the Lord by raining on our parade in so many ways, but like Bruh David, we need to seek our heavenly Father with a hunger and thirst that the enemy cannot ever kill!

And like Bruh David, we should emphatically declare: ‘Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee (close behind thee): thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion (a prey) for foxes (jackals). But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.’ (Ps. 63:7-11)

Yes friends, Bruh David hit the nail right on the head there: those that believe in Christ shall rejoice, while those that blaspheme His holy name will end up in Hades, in hellfire! Now for those of us who truly believe and also behave like we believe, (smile) let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our most excellent position in Christ Jesus.

As one strong, confident and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’

Now, never forget that if we endure to the end, like Bruh David did, that promised future will be even greater than we can ever ask or imagine. So, let’s hang in there nuh for Jesus’ sake my faithful brethren! Much LOVE!

…truly living for Jesus…oh, it’s such a joy…a joy that no one or nothing can ever steal…

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John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

One more day Friends, one more day! Wow! We’ve been granted life anew for another day, so let’s use it wisely please. Let’s use it like the present God desires it to be, with all the new mercies, blessings, forgiveness and LOVE that He’s showering down on us.

Let’s keep our focus on God: praise and serve Him diligently and sincerely, and do the works He desires of us. He has given us all we need to accomplish the tasks on our task sheets, so there should be no serious problems involved.

But if perchance, one does crop up, we have the freedom, or rather we’re expected to call on Him for assistance, which He’ll never refuse, once we’re sincere. For as Jesus says in His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek (gentle) and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)

So my fellow believers, with those words of comfort and encouragement bubbling in our souls, let’s not allow anything or anyone to cause us anxiety, fear or worry today. Let’s stand strong in the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, and try our very best to make a positive difference in this crazy, troubled world in which we now live.

That’s what Jesus desires of us! And remember that He is indeed our be all and end all! He is our Healer, our Helper, our Redeemer and our Friend! What more can we ask eh? Nothing really.

So let’s look at our Bit: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’

And it’s worth repeating and remembering that after He spoke those purposeful words, He went out and died for us at Calvary… as Friends, not servants.

And we’ll continue looking at the interplay of ‘friends and friendships’ as found in the Good Book. Then there was Job and his supposed friends. They ostensibly came to comfort him in his sorrow and grief, but unfortunately ended up beating him down emotionally, claiming that his hidden sins had caused his disastrous experience.

And God’s wrath was kindled against them, because they had not spoken rightly of Him as His servant Job had done, and He commanded them to repent and offer burnt offerings. (Job 42:7-9)

But hear this: ‘And the Lord turned (restored) the captivity (losses) of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.’ (Job 42:10)

Yes my people, the Lord turned Job’s adversity around when he prayed for his friends, and also worked some serious miracles on his behalf, blessing him with twice as much as he had lost. Oh how good our God is to us!

That brings us to this rather important point; the importance of praying for others, even when they’ve done us wrong. I know that’s sometimes pretty hard to do, but it’s required of believers.

Jesus said it loud and clear: ‘But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you; That ye may be children (sons) of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.’ (Matt.5:44-45)

So if you ought to pray for your enemies, it’s logical to assume that you ought to pray for your friends and fellow believers too. (smile)

Now let’s look at some wisdom of Cousin Sol, re ‘friends and friendships’ as divined in Proverbs. He declares first of all that: ‘The poor is hated even of (by) his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends (the LOVERS of the rich are many).’ (Prov.14:20)

And isn’t that the gospel truth! The scholars explain it thus: ’14:20-21. Social standing is improved with riches, but the good neighbour will have concern for all, regardless of their status.’ That’s how it ought to be, but sadly in this topsy-turvy world of ours, we still look down on the poor and up at the rich.

And here’s a fitting companion to that Proverb. ‘Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour (friend).’ (Prov.19:4)

And we see that everyday. Many of us have also experienced it. When times are good and we are rolling in plenty, we have plenty supposed friends around us, but as soon as the good times stop flowing, they all disappear.

Now listen to these Proverbs. ‘A froward (perverse) man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief (the best of) friends.’ (Prov.16:28) Or as the scholars say: ’16:28. Gossip destroys friendships.’ That we all know and have experienced too.

Here is a companion to that one. ‘He that covereth a transgression seeketh LOVE; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very (the best of) friends.’ (Prov.17:9) More reflections on gossip.

Then we have this bit of wisdom. ‘A man that hath friends must show himself friendly (may come to ruin): and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ (Prov.18:24)

The scholars explain that this way: ’18:24. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly may also be translated, “A man of many friends comes to ruin.” In other words, a man must not spread himself too thin among many superficial relationships. Far better it is to have genuine friends who become like family and LOVE at all times. (17:17).’

And isn’t that the gospel, gospel truth my people! It surely is!

And we’ll close with this priceless gem of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.’ (Prov.27:17)

Mama Mia! Wisdom from heaven Friends!

The scholars explain it thus: ’27:17. As the proper tool shapes and sharpens iron for its desired use, so a man sharpens his friend morally and intellectually by their personal friendship.’

Now that’s the kind of friends we need to have and need to be! Friends, who encourage, comfort, exhort, educate and uplift each other in as many walks of life as possible.

So let’s go out today and be that kind of friend nuh mih people. It could only make our world a better place for our children and us. Much LOVE!

…the fewer the friends…the less possibility of strife and troublesome friendships…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 June 2022 Psalm 63:1.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 October 2014 John 15:13

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