Walking In God’s Presence

Psalms 21:1-13

Jim Davis

God is present on every path we take. Salvation is not about making all the right choices—taking all the right paths. It is not that good choices are’t important. A heavenly host surrounds us, as we choose our paths they work diligently to direct our steps—to a better way in spite of our choices. That heavenly host is present to direct the salvaging process on a moment by moment basis.

Throughout the Old Testament salvation was taught in terms of what God had done and was doing for his people in real time. The stories invite us to make a connection with those people. It may be much different from how many perceive salvation today. We think in terms of embracing church doctrine, belonging to the right church. Thinking in terms of what Christ did on the cross and how God is going to take us to heaven when we die. We may feel left alone while struggling with our earthly choices and our consequences. Salvation throughout the Old Testament reflects how God was seeking to salvage lives throughout their daily journeys as he directed their steps. 

The Scriptures initially begin with simply telling stories of how God salvaged lives on earth in the midst of circumstances born of their personal choices. God’s salvation came whether their choices were good or bad. Moses conveyed the message of salvation to the Hebrews by telling them the real life stories of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Joseph. When you read these stories you begin to realize their faith did not lead them to make all the right choices. Their salvation did not rest in their abilities, or the strength of their faith, but in the power of God. The stories tell you of God’s faithfulness inspite of their weaknesses and their bad choices.

Moses is writing about their lives as he is leading the Hebrews out of 450 years of Egyptian bondage. Moses revealed to the Hebrews that they were being included in God’s ongoing salvation.

God Reveals Himself

These stories are not as much about the patriarchs as they are about God revealing himself. Those people lived in cultures we have difficulty understanding. We understand little about the laws by which they lived. It was probably Hammurabi’s laws, which were the first written laws around 1700 BC. The Bible doesn’t indicate this, but ancient history strongly suggest it. A great number of those laws are identical to Moses Laws.
The major difference between the patriarchs and the world was the God who was leading them. As they followed the laws and cultural norms of that day the world took note of the God who was leading them.

These stories give us a real view of how God viewed their lives from heaven’s vantage. These stories allow us a chance to sit back and realize their story is our story. We are enabled to catch a glimpse of our standing and personal salvation through the eyes of God. 

The psalmist reflects upon the awesome salvation God provides. The psalmist sees our standing from heaven’s vantage point. 

Psalms 8
Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
    in the heavens.

Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:

all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,

the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Sometimes when I sit back to contemplate the stories of salvation—-I have to ask, who is worshiping whom. I don’t mean to be arrogant. Yet, to really appreciate our salvation we must understand our standing before God—-see God’s involvement from heavens viewpoint. It is almost as if God has paused eternity for us. We are in this time warp called earthly existence waiting to be swallowed up by his eternal presence.

Hebrews 1:13-14
To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet”?
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

The angels are working in this world order to salvage the lives of those who have inherited salvation through Jesus Christ. Our victories are the direct result of what heaven has done and is doing for each of us. We find the psalmist rejoicing over his salvation and how God will yet bestow his blessings. 

Psalms 21:1-13
The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
    How great is his joy in the victories you give!
You have granted him his heart’s desire
    and have not withheld the request of his lips.
You came to greet him with rich blessings
    and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
    length of days, for ever and ever.
Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
    you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
Surely you have granted him unending blessings
    and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord;
    through the unfailing love of the Most High
    he will not be shaken.
Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
    your right hand will seize your foes.
When you appear for battle,
    you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
    and his fire will consume them.
You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
    their posterity from mankind.
Though they plot evil against you
    and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
You will make them turn their backs
    when you aim at them with drawn bow.
Be exalted in your strength, Lord;
    we will sing and praise your might.

Initially we may have difficulty relating to the king’s victories and his deliverance. Until we realize those to whom these words were given saw it as what God was personally doing for all of his people through his blessings upon the king. This is a psalm of victory and confidence for each of God’s people.

Proverbs 21:1 In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

God is not only working in the king’s life to give him the desires of his heart to bless his people—-he is doing the same for each of us. We must admit the deepest desires of our hearts are beyond anything this world has to offer. He is also working in your heart to direct your life for greater blessings than anyone can imagine. 

Our struggles are real and leave us feeling helpless. The battleground of the heart, at times seems unmanageable and insurmountable. The apostle speaks about this battle.

Romans 7:22-26
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

God Knows the Battles Raging in Our Hearts

We are encouraged knowing that God knows every battle raging in our hearts. Doesn’t matter how noble or how ugly the issues.

Romans 8:6-28
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

The heavenly host is personally involved in our salvation. Knows what is going within our hearts — knows the ugliness of our hearts—and yet, is interceding about those very issues. Issues we can’t begin to discuss with God much less anyone else. We don’t know how or may even be afraid or ashamed to bring those issues to the light of God’s presence and council. So the Spirit of God does it for us. I think the Spirit does this for us and eventually enables us to face those problems ourselves through confession, repentance and accepting God’s forgiveness. 

Heaven is so concerned for us that the very Spirit of God groans with pain over our pains. Words cannot convey the agony of our struggles. The Spirit of God can only groan as God searches our hearts.  He who searches our heart is the same great “I AM” that led Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Hebrews out of Egypt.

God is involved in the deep issues of their hearts. God saw the decisions of Abraham’s descendants and world politics would eventually lead them to 450 years of Egyptian slavery (Genesis 15). The bondage wasn’t something planned for them—it would be the consequences of their decisions and world politics. God sees the end from the beginning. Yet, God promises Abraham deliverance long before it actually occurred. This gives us a glimpse of this is our salvation from heaven’s point of view also. It is what God is doing through Jesus Christ.

Our plans, the roads we take and the consequences are not necessarily preordained by God——however our salvation is preordained by the immutable promises and work of God and is sought by the work of the heavenly host. We are no different from the patriarchs as we travel our own self chosen paths or the paths forced upon us by the world order. Often, roads are chosen through a natural instinct to survive or as the result or our egos, selfishness, ignorance, inability to see things differently, inability to make a better decision. Yet, God is actively involved directing our steps.

Jeremiah 10:23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.

God is here to direct our steps in our self-chosen paths as we rejoice in  God’s presence. We can rejoice in the salvation his presence brings. The first name for God I find in the Bible is Jehovah-jireh—meaning God will provide. It was spoken by Abraham as he was walking up that mountain to offer his son as a sacrifice. Issac asks his father what he was going to offer on that Mountain. Abraham said, Jehovah-jireh—God will provide. God provided a lamb as an alternate sacrifice. He continues to provide today.

Salvation defies human logic. I took a course in logic in college. Taught by a very capable well know professor. The class had to do with making logical arguments about issues of our salvation. The class actually left me very frustrated—you see I was not great with mathematical logic. It is hard to deal with the issues of the heart with pure logic. There is common sense logic in our salvation, but salvation in the lives of the patriarchs and our lives defy all human logic.
 
Conclusion:

It is no accident that the New Testament opens revealing that Christians were being included in God’s story of salvation. Christians are direct recipients of the promises God made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-5; Galatians 3:26). God continues to bless those who bless us and curse those who curse us. Just as he did for Abraham. The Christian story is rooted deeply into the story of the patriarchs. It is inextricably connected to Moses and the prophets.

Galatians 3:26-29 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

God delivered the Jews from 70 years of Babylonian bondage. They were there because of their bad choices. They were weeping over their failures as God’s word was being read to them and their failures were exposed. They were encouraged to feast and celebrate God’s salvation. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10). As they recognized their failures and weaknesses the prophet reminded them their strength came from the joy of the Lord as he salvaged their lives. 

The greatest stories of personal salvation are found beyond the cross in the heart of the Hebrew scriptures. There, assurance is found as God reveals that he is a very personal God. Those stories came to fruition for each of us through Jesus Christ. That same God continues to bring salvation to us on a daily basis as he sets us free from the jaws of spiritual death.

Romans 8:1-4 
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

In the midst of our troubles we can rest assured in Jehovah-jireh. He will continue to provide salvation on a moment by moment basis in real time.

Romans 8:28 
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

Have you ever made a decision that turn into a nightmare? After walking that path things turn out so great as a result of those hardships you start thinking God chose that path for you. You actually chose that path. Things don’t turn out like anything you plan. They actually turn out better than anything you could have dreamed. It was God directing the events to work out for you good and according for his purpose for you. That was salvation.