The King Who Delights in Us
Proverbs 8:12-31; Psalm 38:1-21
"Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name."
(Malachi 3:16)
If you keep a journal to make a record of the Lord's dealings with you, think of it as a "scroll of remembrance" for the King who delights to have your thoughts about Him recorded. The Lord was so delighted with David's thoughts about Him that He incorporated what we could call David's journal - the Psalms - in the Scriptures. It is mind-blowing to think that God used David's intimate record of his experiences and enjoyment of God in His holy Word.
What encourages me particularly is that the King delights not only in David's great thoughts about Him, but also in David's frank record of his failings. The Lord even calls him "a man after his own heart." If we remember this delight of the King that is for us, too, we will be like Peter, leaping out of the boat to meet the resurrected Jesus, instead of like Judas, who hugged his sin to himself, and moved away from Jesus.
He is saying to you and to me at this very moment: "Behold, thou art fair, my love: behold thou art fair" (Song of Solomon 4:1, KJV).
INSIGHT
The only significance we can ever need is rooted in the fact that the King delights in us.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Hosea 7-8
Proverbs 13
1 Peter 1
Proverbs 8:12-31;
12 "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have insight, I have power.
15 By me kings reign
and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,
and nobles—all who rule on earth.[a]
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;
what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.
22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,[b][c]
before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was constantly[d] at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
Footnotes:
a. Proverbs 8:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; other Hebrew manuscripts all righteous rulers
b. Proverbs 8:22 Or way; or dominion
c. Proverbs 8:22 Or The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work; or The LORD brought me forth at the beginning of his work
d. Proverbs 8:30 Or was the artisan; or was a little child
Psalm 38:1-21
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David. A petition.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbors stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 LORD, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, "Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip."
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause[b];
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.
21 LORD, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 38:1 In Hebrew texts 38:1-22 is numbered 38:2-23.
b. Psalm 38:19 One Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript; Masoretic Text my vigorous enemies
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