Limping or Leaping?

The heavens declare the glory of God,

And the firmament proclaims His praise (Ps.19:1).

Can anything be more beautiful than a glorious sunrise seen through the bare branches of winter trees?  The fact that we are there to see it at all is a gift!  Who got us up to admire His handiwork this morning?  Who brought us to the window to glance up in surprise?  Who led us to this moment of wonder and awe?

Ps. 17 puts it this way:  You still the hunger of those you cherish;  their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.  And I--in rightousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Reading the Psalms is emotionally rich; in them can be found every human emotion.  David, the author of most of the Psalms, lived through terror, persecution, sin, hatred----and throughout all of his life, He found God faithful and glorious.  He pondered the works of the Lord in nature and in His acts of deliverance.  David was able to draw parallels between the beauty of the sun rising in the heavens and the "law" (or instruction) of God, bringing the dawn of beauty and righteousness into the darkened human heart. 

In Psalm 84, David writes:

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their heart on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, (weeping, lamentation, soreness)

they make it a place of springs...

They go from strength to strength

til each appears before God in Zion...

For the Lord God is a sun and a shield...

no good thing does He withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

David pondered the works of the Lord in nature and in human history, and he saw incredible parallels between nature and the work of God in the human heart.  At first, it is hard to grasp some of his concepts, such as the ones above concerning "those whose walk is blameless," and beholding God's face in "righteousness."  After all, David himself was certainly not the model of Christian perfection:  he lusted after Bathsheba, murdered Uriah, and was not allowed to build the temple because of the "blood on his hands."  Next to him, most of us would feel more "righteous" than he was.  But here's what David knew:  not that he was perfect, but that God is a "sun and a shield" to those who seek Him:

It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

He enables me to stand on the heights.

He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You give me your shield of victory,

and Your right hand sustains me;

You stoop down to make me great.

You broaden the path beneath me,

so that my ankles do not turn (Ps. 18:32-36)

Whenever we are brought to the beauty of a sunrise, Psalm 18 might be a wonderful song of praise and a great way to begin the day!  After all, who wants to limp through the day on turning ankles?